Family Forum / Marriage / Divorce / July 2006

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http://newpaper.asia1.com.sg/news/story/0,4136,110646,00.html

TOO FAT No cremation - coffin of obese man too big, so he'll have to be
buried

By Dawn Chia July 26, 2006

HIS last wish was to be cremated. But Mr Tan Ah Boon, 50, who died on
Sunday, will be buried instead.The reason: The 300kg man, who died of
morbid obesity, was too fat to be cremated. His body, the size of a big
tree trunk, could not fit into a normal coffin.Each of his legs, which
had turned black in recent months, was more than four times the size of
an average man's leg.

A custom-made, extra-large coffin had to be brought in from a casket
company's warehouse in Johor Baru, Malaysia.Then came the second glitch
- due to the large size, the coffin could not fit into the cremation
chamber.The only solution? A burial.

Even though Mr Tan will not get his wish, his younger brother James Tan
is relieved the problem is resolved.The younger Mr Tan, 48, told The
New Paper: 'Because of his size, we had to find a suitable coffin, but
when we did, it was too big to be cremated.'He was just too fat - his
legs were like the size of an elephant's and his stomach was really
bloated.

'We knew he wanted to be cremated, but I think he will understand.'The
coffin, which is more than twice the size of a normal one, weighed more
than 250kg on its own.It took 10 men to lift the coffin with Mr Tan's
body in it. The coffin alone weighed 250kg. --Ten men had to be
mobilised to carry the coffin containing Mr Tan's body, though it was
only a short distance - some 20m from the lorry to the void deck, where
the wake was held.

Even moving his body from his 10th-floor flat to the mortuary was a
hefty task - eight men had to carry the body up to the 11th floor where
the lift landing was, before taking it to the ground floor. Mr Tan, who
was about 1.7m tall, used to weigh around 90kg.

He was the second of five siblings. His wife, Madam Sim Poh Lian, said
her husband began to gain weight after he resigned from his storekeeper
job about seven years ago.The 47-year-old hawker's assistant said in
Mandarin: 'He said he was tired of working and quit his job one day.
After that, he started to eat whatever he could lay his hands on such
as oily food, soft drinks and sweet desserts.'I told him to watch his
diet but he didn't listen.'He just ate, slept and watched TV.'

The couple, who have been married for about 10 years, have no
children.Mr Tan began to pile on the kilos in the last two years, with
his weight ballooning to 200kg, then 300kg, said his wife.He was warded
twice since 2004 as he had difficulty breathing.

On Sunday, Madam Sim found him slumped against a two-seater sofa in the
living room after she returned home from work around 7.30pm. She
recalled that he had complained of 'feeling a little cold and weak'
when she left for work around 6.30am.

She said: 'I thought nothing of it as those were his common
complaints.'Then he called me around 8am, saying he felt weak and was
afraid he would not have enough energy to get up on his own.'Before I
could ask him anything else, he hung up.' As she was busy, she did not
call him back.

Seeing that he was unconscious, she tried to rouse him, but he didn't
respond.Worried, she called the younger Mr Tan for help.He rushed over
to their flat in Jurong West, but wasn't able to wake him.

The younger Mr Tan said: 'As I shook him, I said 'wake up, wake up,
don't sleep anymore. I still want to scold you some more'.'I didn't
know he was already gone.'

CHAIR COLLAPSED The younger Mr Tan said his elder brother last visited
him in 2003, during Chinese New Year.He said: 'We were playing mahjong
when the metal chair he was on suddenly collapsed under his weight.'He
was already quite big-sized then, and I advised him to watch his diet.'
After that mahjong session, the younger Mr Tan said his brother never
stepped out of his house again, as he had problems walking. He could
only waddle along very slowly.

The younger Mr Tan said: 'He had grown so fat no clothes could fit him
- he wore only a sarong at home.'I told him to use his willpower to
curb his eating habits and change his lifestyle, but he didn't want to
listen.'Over the last few months, Mr Tan seemed to have given up hope
on life.His younger brother said: 'He told me that life has no meaning,
and he wanted to die.'I was very sad when I heard that, and tried to
encourage him, but I could only do so much.'

Funeral director Roland Tay, who is overseeing Mr Tan's funeral, said
this was the first time he had to bring in a coffin of this size.

SPECIAL ARRANGEMENTS He said: 'As the family isn't very well-to-do, I
told them I would take care of the cost of the coffin.'It's the least I
can do for the family.'The custom-made coffin would cost about three
times the price of a normal one.Mr Tan will be buried in Choa Chu Kang
Chinese Cemetery tomorrow.

Special arrangements will have to be made for the grave diggers to
prepare a bigger lot for the coffin.