BATU PAHAT: She was only 17 and a brilliant girl who scored 10As for her SPM trial. The family had been expecting her to do just as well in the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) this week. But it was not to be.
Instead, the family was left in mourning as Sim Hui Yi died tragically without regaining consciousness after slipping into a coma on Dec 2. It was on just 24 hours before the SPM exams were to start.
The student from SMK Yong Peng carried a tragic secret to her grave: She had been experiencing headaches for at least a month but did not tell her parents about it as she did not want to worry her 52-year-old fishmonger assistant father or her mother.
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She died at about 9.40am on Thursday due to a ruptured blood vessel in her brain, leading to a haemorrhage. Hui Yi was rushed to the Yong Peng health clinic before being referred to the Batu Pahat hospital.
“She only told us all the good news and hid whatever difficulties and problems she was facing as she did not want us to worry about her,” said her mother, Lau Lee Liam.
“After her passing, we found some of the messages she sent to her friends about the headaches she had been experiencing.
“If only we had known earlier, we would have done everything we could to ease her pain. As parents, all we wanted was for our child to be happy and healthy,” said the 45-year-old housewife.
Her father, Sim Kang Shiang, said his daughter had been working very hard for the exams and was hoping to get a scholarship to continue her tertiary studies.
Paying last respects: Dr Wee (left) comforting Lau and Kang Shiang at Hui Yi’s funeral in Yong Peng, Batu Pahat. — THOMAS YONG/The Star
“She wanted to graduate from university with flying colours, secure a good job and give us a better life.
“We had been telling her not to worry about money and about putting too much pressure on herself.
“But that did not stop her from continuing to burn the midnight oil,” he said when met during his daughter’s funeral at Yong Peng yesterday.
It was only after Hui Yi’s passing that he and his wife found out about their daughter suffering from headaches since last month.
Among those who paid their last respects to the teenager were MCA president Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong and state executive councillor Ling Tian Soon.
“This is a great loss to the family, especially her parents.
“I hope that her parents remain strong in facing such a difficult time,” Dr Wee said.
The Ayer Hitam MP spent some time comforting Hui Yi’s grieving parents.
Ling, who is also Yong Peng assemblyman and MCA Youth chief had also visited the girl when she was still in a coma.
Meanwhile, Dr Wee also paid his last respects to Datuk Seri Mah Siew Keong’s mother Wong Leng Wah.
Mah was former plantation industries and commodities minister and former Gerakan president.
“My heartfelt condolences to his entire family. May they remain strong and steadfast during this difficult time,” he wrote in a Facebook post on Thursday.
