A Singaporean businesswoman, Ms Linda Koh (36), who was respected and well-liked among the community, was found unconscious in her hotel room in Hong Kong on Saturday (12 Nov) and later declared dead in the Queen Mary hospital.
Shin Min Daily News reported that Ms Koh had arrived in Hong Kong on Wednesday (9 Nov) and was scheduled to fly back to Singapore on the day of her death.
She is the managing director of a family-run company, KSP Marketing, which specialises in processing pork and other frozen meat products.
She is a divorcee and leaves behind a young son and a daughter.
On Saturday morning, Ms Koh had breakfast with her friends and had returned to her hotel room. When she did not come out later and could not be contacted, a friend got the hotel management to open the room door, and they found her unconscious. She was rushed to the hospital, but doctors failed to revive her.
Shin Min reported that Ms Koh’s younger brother and ex-husband flew to Hong Kong on the night of her death but were told that they had to wait a few days for the autopsy to be completed.
Hong Kong authorities have yet to determine the cause of death, and will require one to two days before the body can be flown back to Singapore.
They were told the body could return to Singapore earliest by Thursday, Koh’s brother said to Shin Min, but he hoped the process can be sped up.
Hong Kong police told a local newspaper, Oriental Daily, that her room was not in a mess and they did not rule out the possibility that Ms Koh had collapsed suddenly. According to ready reports, the deceased has a history of hypertension and is on medication.
The Singapore consulate in Hong Kong said they were aware that a Singaporean had died there over the weekend, and has been in touch with the deceased’s next-of-kin.
Her father, Mr Alan Koh (74), told Shin Min that his eldest daughter had a history of hypertension but had seen a doctor and was taking medication.
While she was in Hong Kong, Ms Koh had called her family in Singapore every day and always chatted with her children.
Mr Koh said his daughter planned to return to Singapore on Saturday evening, but at around 11pm, the Hong Kong hotel called to inform what had happened with her.
A friend said Ms Koh was a zealous cook who cared deeply for others, always willing to try new things, whether it was a business idea or a recipe.
Ms Koh used to share her recipes online on Facebook Guru Home Chef.
Some of her dear friends and news readers commented the lost on Facebook. Her friend, Bernard Cheok commented, “Hi Linda, I still can’t bring myself to believe what had happened. I mean I just spoke to you last week about meeting up for a Go Kart session with you but… after all these years of knowing you, may you rest in peace Linda and my condolences to your family and loved ones. I will miss you much…”
