TAIPEI (SCMP): The ashes of recently deceased Taiwanese host and actress Barbie “Big S” Hsu Shi-yuan will reportedly be brought home from Japan on Thursday by her husband and younger sister.
Taiwanese media also reported on Tuesday that Hsu, 48, already suffered flu symptoms during her family trip to Japan before she succumbed to pneumonia.
Hsu’s husband Koo Jun-yup and sister Dee Hsu, also known as “Little S”, will bring back the ashes of the actress to Taiwan on February 6 following cremation in Japan, while Hsu’s mother will fly home on Tuesday, according to local media.
Hsu’s death, confirmed by her family on Monday, shocked fans around the world. She became a household name in Hong Kong and across Asia for her starring role in the 2001 television drama Meteor Garden.
A screenshot allegedly from a tour guide for Hsu’s family circulated online on Tuesday, saying the actress had begun to show flu symptoms four days before her death.
Taiwanese outlet EBC News reported based on the screenshot that the alleged tour guide said Hsu had begun coughing and displaying asthma symptoms on January 29 and did not leave a hotel for the next two days.
EBC News reported that Hsu was sent to hospitals in Japan twice, but was discharged soon afterwards. She died in hospital in the morning on February 2.
The screenshot, also seen by the Post, detailed that Hsu was first sent to hospital in the evening of January 31, but was sent home at midnight.
“On February 1, I dragged Big S, Little S, her mother and Big S’s husband to Hakone and then back to the capital. When we reached the bottom half of Hakone, Big S went to a rural hospital,” the guide allegedly said.
“The hospital said her condition could not be treated there and referred us to a big hospital, saying it was influenza A virus.”
According to the alleged tour guide’s message, Hsu did not immediately seek medical treatment upon arriving in Tokyo, only rushing to a hospital at midnight when she felt sick. - SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST
