Kelvin Khoo Online

Even after leaving the newspaper for public relations last year, he retained a voracious appetite for politics and current affairs.

Yesterday, just two days short of his 41st birthday, Mr Toh died in hospital after suffering a massive heart attack at home.

He is survived by his wife of three years, Linda. The couple, who had no children, had birthdays one day apart and planned to celebrate her birthday today.

Mr Toh, a Malaysian, started his journalism career at The Straits Times almost 20 years ago, reporting on financial news.

He left to work as an analyst before returning to BT as its Malaysia correspondent. He was later made the paper’s deputy news editor here.

His sudden death was a shock to his family and friends.

BT senior correspondent Ven Sreenivasan, who knew him for over a decade, described Mr Toh as ‘easily one of the nicest people around’.

‘He was warm and approachable and one of those genuinely friendly people,’ he said. ‘He was very laid back and easy to talk to. He was very knowledgeable about Malaysian politics and we used to talk about it all the time.’

A close friend of nearly two decades, former BT news editor Quak Hiang Whai said: ‘Other men may talk about football when they meet but, with Eddie, it was always politics and global issues. Even after he left BT, we would spend our time doing a postmortem of the newspapers when we met.’

Mr Vince Chong, Beijing correspondent with The Straits Times, said he was in Singapore last week and had dinner with Mr Toh at Clarke Quay.

‘He was his usual jovial self, joking about politics and catching up on the gossip in the corporate world,’ he said.

At about 3pm yesterday, Mr Toh complained of discomfort and began to vomit.

With the help of a neighbour, his wife took him to Tan Tock Seng Hospital. By then, he was unconscious.

Mr Quak, who was among the friends and colleagues who went to the hospital as soon as they heard the news, said: ‘I kept whispering in his ear, telling him we should both return to BT and we would stir up a storm together - anything that would excite him. I felt so helpless.’

But Mr Toh slipped away.

BT editor Alvin Tay, who had also gone to the hospital, said: ‘I was shocked when I heard the news. He seemed quite fit when he was with BT.’

He remembered Mr Toh representing the paper at one of the Singapore Exchange’s Bull Runs in the Central Business District.

‘He was also affectionately known in BT as the newspaper’s CEO, or chief entertainment officer, mainly for chairing the organising committees for several of our fun events.

‘I was disappointed when he decided to quit the paper last year. To me, it was a loss to journalism.’

On March 22, the 37-year-old manager parked his Nissan Sunny in an open carpark behind Block 259 in Yishun during a rainstorm.

The car’s windscreen was hit by a lightning bolt as he was about to open the door, said Mr Manimaran.

‘My eyes were blinded for a few seconds before I noticed small glass pieces on my dashboard and cracks on my windscreen.’

His maid, who was some distance away in the void deck, saw what happened.

His car’s insurer, AXA Insurance, agreed to pay the $400 in repairs and towing charges. Spokesman Christina Wee said that in her company’s experience, such ‘freak’ cases occur once every two to three years.

The Automobile Association of Singapore (AA) noted that insurance companies may not always pay for any damage since lightning strikes are deemed to be ‘acts of God’. These include flooding and hailstone showers. The latter actually occurred in Singapore last Thursday.

AA’s spokesman added that staying in a car during a thunderstorm was still safer than being out in the open since cars are well insulated.

When asked to comment on why the windscreen cracked, Professor Sanjib Panda from the National University of Singapore’s department of electrical and computer engineering, sketched two possible scenarios.

One, when the bolt hit the windscreen, it left cracks as it tried to move downwards. Two, the intense heat generated on impact caused the windscreen to crack.

Mr Manimaran is more wary now. ‘I don’t feel so safe any more in an open carpark.’

Her mother, grandmother and two-year-old brother died on the spot. Her father, Mr Bong Kwang Hong, 37, died in hospital.

Nurses at the Tangkak hospital near Muar looked after Jolene until three of her uncles and her paternal grandmother arrived from Singapore. The Bongs lived in a Simei condominium.

Police believe Mr Bong, who runs a travel agency and was driving, lost control of his seven-seater Mitsubishi Grandis which went off the road, crashed into two trees and ripped open.