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Title : Ex-triad leader Tan Chor Jin cremated
By :
Date : 11 January 2009 1906 hrs (SST)
URL : http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/401684/1/.html

SINGAPORE : Ex-triad leader Tan Chor Jin, who shot and killed a night club owner in 2006, was cremated on Sunday.

He was hanged on Friday and his family confirmed that his organs were donated.

While alive, Mr Tan was a fearless triad leader with a fiery temper to match.

He was known in underworld circles as the "one-eyed dragon", but relatives said he had mellowed days before he was due to be hanged.

Tan Chor Juay, his brother, said: "My children were all very sad. When I told him, he asked them not to be so upset. He was prepared for everything."

Close to 500 friends and family gathered at his wake to bid their final farewells.

And while Mr Tan will be dearly missed by his loved ones, they said their last memories of him will be of a kind, selfless man who wanted to help others.

His brother said: "He decided that he will donate all the organs, anything that someone needs. He donated everything, whatever he could."

According to Mr Tan's brother, the family is not aware of the identities of his organ recipients, but reports have suggested that Singapore retail magnate Tang Wee Sung received one of Mr Tan's kidneys.

Mr Tang's family spokesperson said the donor had specified who he wanted to receive his organs.

But Mr Tang has refused to divulge further details to maintain the privacy of the donor's family.

Mr Tang is now out of the intensive care unit and is currently recuperating in the high dependency ward at the National University Hospital.

The former head of retail empire Tangs, received a kidney transplant on Friday.

The 56-year-old who suffers several medical problems including diabetes, asthma, heart problems, sleep apnoea, depression, anxiety and panic attacks had been taken off the waiting list for a kidney transplant because of his many ailments.

Following a successful triple heart bypass in October 2007, he was deemed well enough for a kidney transplant.

He was caught trying to buy a kidney for transplant from an Indonesian last June and was jailed for a day for being involved in the sale which is currently not legal in Singapore.
- CNA/ms/sf



"One-eyed dragon" hanged
Tang Wee Sung gets a transplant


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