these few days has been a little emotional for me. its like i try not to think about it but its not easy...he used to be just the guy that came to class everyweek and left me wondering where have i seen him before. we knew his name, but we somehow referred to him as the BB boy. However this guy here has taught me an important lesson in life. He did not make me pessimistic but rather that life can be unpredictable. He was from St Hilda's Sec and fittingly sat at the table dubbed the St Hilda's table. As i looked at the seat he used to take i couldn't help but think of the last time we saw him. i tried to imagine him sitting there, it was hard. to this point in my life, it is the first time a sudden death to someone was so close. i knew him. each and everyweek i would go to class and stick to vivien, Si and Xue. its rare for me to speak to people from other tables and this was why i missed the chance to get to know a warm, friendly and caring person. A person that would go all out to help others. This person was Samuel Tan. This is his story:
( Newpaper 20th sept 2006) HIS friends made a VCD in memory of him as he had made a difference in their lives.
Tributes flowed freely from teachers and friends at 16-year-old Samuel Tan's wake on Sunday at Pasir Ris Street 21.
All of these took his dad, Mr Simon Tan, by surprise.
The St Hilda's Secondary student, who was in Sec 4, would normally be home only around 5pm and would sometimes be at school till 9pm, prompting his dad to wonder what he was doing.
Now he realises that Samuel's time was mostly taken by what he did to help his fellow students.
Over the weekend, his friends told Mr Tan that Samuel had been staying back after school to help them with their homework.
Speaking from their executive flat, Mr Tan, 50, said with a proud smile: 'I never knew. He did all this quietly and never told me. And I only found out after he's gone. It made me feel so proud of him.'
Mr Tan showed The New Paper the three-minute VCD, which had pictures of Samuel in school and taking part in Boys' Brigade (BB) activities, which he was committed to.
In the VCD, his friends called him a 'great leader' and a 'great friend'.
He was also awarded the Foundersman Award, given to the best in the BB.
Samuel's principal, Mr Ong Kim Soon, 39, told The New Paper that Samuel was confident, caring and disciplined.
He said: 'He demonstrated a quiet maturity rare for his age, which gave him the confidence to be fully at ease with who he was and with those he came into contact with.'
And he was very generous, said Mr Ong. 'He was very interested in his schoolwork and often rallied his classmates to study, even organising a study group to support his classmates' learning. He was very unselfish.'
Samuel's close friend and fellow BB cadet, Benjamin Lee, 17, said he was a model student.
He said: 'He was the top student in physics-chemistry for Sec 3 last year. He would also stay from 7 to 9.30pm in school to help me with chemistry.'
Mr Tan finds all this quite surprising as Samuel rarely showed this side at home.
Though he would talk of being a leader, he was still the young one who would cuddle up to his parents.
Mr Tan, who is in the paper industry, works mainly from home.
He said: 'He was like a baby to me. He would cuddle up to me and sit on my lap, even at his age.
'He would also want me to put him to bed.'
But when they went out, things were different, said Mr Tan because 'he said as a leader, he cannot be seen to be a baby'.
He and his wife, administrator Marilyn Tan, 48, have another son, Shawn, 20, a polytechnic student.
She said the family had gone for a short break at a local five-star hotel on 8 Sep, to help Samuel relax as his prelim exams were to have started on 11 Sep.
That night, the boys went home, but Mr and Mrs Tan spent the night in the hotel.
At around 6am the next day, Samuel called her, saying he had a fever.
Mrs Tan rushed home and took him to a nearby 24-hour clinic where he was given medicine for fever.
Eventually, the fever started going down, although he had diarrhoea and a headache, which worsened. He was also vomiting, but the fever was at a 'manageable level', said Mrs Tan.
SNUGGLE
Then, around 1am on Wednesday, Samuel crept into his parents' bed and said he wanted to snuggle with his mother.
Mr Tan slept in Samuel's bed as mother and son spent that night together.
It would be the last time they would have a special moment together.
She said: 'He seemed breathless. I asked him if he was okay and if I should take him to the hospital, but he said it was not necessary.'
The next day they took him to Changi General Hospital, as his condition had worsened.
There a doctor told her the results of his blood test - dengue haemorrhagic fever.
The number of dengue cases has fallen this year, but it still poses a danger, said the authorities. (See report at right.)
Mrs Tan said: 'The doctor said his heart lining was inflamed. His condition was critical and he had to be moved to the intensive care unit.'
By 6pm, Samuel, who was already wearing a mask, told a doctor he had difficulty breathing.
Then, doctors told Mrs Tan that his heart was weakening and that the pressure was low.
She added: 'They said his heart might collapse any moment.'
It did at 7pm.
Mrs Tan said that when his heart collapsed a third time, doctors told her to call his close family members and friends to the hospital.
His vice-principal, fellow Boys' Brigade cadets and school friends rushed down to say goodbye.
But it was too late. Samuel died at 8.05pm. He was cremated at the Mandai Crematorium on Sunday.
His passing has taught me treasure each and every person around us. Never lose the opportunity to get to know someone. even if its just a little bit at least you knew and there would be less regrets. when Samuel passed away... no one from our class knew till this report came out. i kept thinking about him, his death and what little memories i had of him. i couldnt study, i couldnt think of anything else. i put on a brave front when i went to school. i tried to appear happy. but when i was alone or even when the word 'die' was mentioned, i would think of him.He was a top student that could get good results, he devoted his time to helping friends but now he is gone. well, at least he lived life to the fullest and knew his responsibilities. now, i realise just how much have i been distracted. so, i want to focus on my studies now. i don't want to think of anything else. i want to do well..because its my responsibility now. And even if my life would end, i fulfilled my responsibilities. and if i get good results, i will make it a tribute to him. Thank you Samuel, for making me learn so many important lessons in life. Thank you.