By Serene Luo This picture was taken last year in happier times at the Singapore Cricket Club. In foreground, Mrs Wendy Goh and Mr William Goh Lye Guan, in back row, from left to right, Ryan, Russell, Reuben, and Rachel. -- PHOTO: COURTESY OF THE GOH FAMILY |
A CLOSE shave with death when a cruise ship sank made a Singapore money broker steer a new course in life, making family his priority.
Mr William Goh Lye Guan was one of the survivors of the sinking of the Royal Pacific, a Singapore-based cruise liner that collided with a Taiwanese trawler in the Malacca Straits in 1992.
Following the tragedy, which claimed the life of a family member, Mr Goh cut back on his work and even became a stay-home dad, a notion virtually unheard of even today.
He took pride in running a tight ship with his brood of four, ferrying them to and from school, tuition and ballet classes.
But on Monday, this devoted and loving father died following a year-long battle with oral cancer. He was 52.
The ill-fated Royal Pacific had been on its maiden voyage in 1992, a three-day cruise to nowhere.
Mr Goh was on the ship with his wife Wendy, now 52, and his first-born and only daughter Rachel, now 19. His wife's sister and husband were travelling with them.
Of the nine missing or dead, six were Singaporeans, including Mr Goh's brother-in-law, architect Charles Law, who died while trying to escape.
Mr Goh and Mr Law were good friends, said Mr Goh's brother Steven, 47, and the tragedy probably made him take stock of his life. Mrs Goh started her childcare business in 1995, and the couple decided around then that 'Daddy would stay home to take care of the kids'.
a blog on: Financial Planning Advice - Christopher Pua
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