Farewell “Ah Pek”, Teo Huan Zhi, 72

Teo Huan Zhi, 72, a stall owner selling frozen pork at Block 20 Ghim Moh Market and Food Centre was found lying motionless at his stall on Oct 26, 7.25am. He was pronounced dead on the scene by a paramedic.

Teo, who is known as “Ah Pek” by stallholders and customers alike, has been sleeping over at the market for the past five to six years.

On the day of Teo's reported death, Oct 26, as the market was waking up to a new day of business, he was nowhere to be found. This was unusual as Teo was often up early and about at his stall every morning.

Sometime after 7am, a regular customer noticed that Teo was lying motionless on the floor at his stall. Initially thinking that he was sound asleep, he soon realised something was amiss and shouted for help as he ran into the stall to take a closer look.

Stallholders nearby ran over and found that Teo, whose body was now stiff and hard, was not responding to their cries. The police were alerted, and Teo was pronounced dead on the scene – the Chairman of the Hawkers Association, Mr Lin, 63, called the police.

When reporters from Lianhe Wanbao arrived at the scene, the police was still conducting their investigations within a cordon that was set up. At about 10am, Teo was loaded onto a police hearse parked outside the market.

Police investigations are ongoing, but they have ruled out foul play as the cause of his death.

Who was “Ah Pek”?

According to Lianhe Wanbao, Teo has been a stallholder at the market for the past 30 years. He keeps to himself, and he does not participate in the activities organised by the stallholders and hawkers.

Mr Lin described Teo as “tall” and noted that his “legs sometimes act up”. Teo was “not in the best of health”, Lin added, and he often sees him sleeping at his stall.

Lianhe Wanbao was able to contact his wife, who was shocked to hear of his passing but soon collected herself. She told the evening daily that Teo had left the house after a quarrel 10 years ago and he has not been back since.

Teo’s wife, who was not named, mentioned that Teo has only secondary school education and had studied Chinese medicine and worked in a related business. Subsequently, he found himself in a situation where he had no work for 6 months, and thereafter he decided to become a pork seller, taking over his mother’s stall at Ghim Moh market.

They have two children, both of whom are financially independent, Teo’s wife added. “He is well-built, has a regular routine and was quite healthy then”.

Stallholders in the market are not aware of the issues he has with his family. According to a fellow pork seller, Mr Lin, 60, Teo treats his stall as his home. “He would sleep in a [reclining] chair that he would set up each night. That’s where he slept and spent his nights”.

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