Jackie Tang Heam Peng (1954-2025)

This January has been a truly torrid month for us former Westlanders, Class of 1965. As we were still reeling from the loss of our two dear 70-year-old friends, Oon Hup and Seng Oo, who passed away on the third and fourth of the month respectively, news came last Thursday, the 23rd, of yet another classmate's death.

I must admit, I did not know Tang Heam Peng well. In fact, I believe the last time I saw him was during our school days at Penang Free School, sometime in the latter half of the 1960s. We lost touch after that and never crossed paths again, though mutual friends occasionally spoke of him, mentioning his early career in London, where he ran an outlet of Ladbrokes, the gaming company, and shared stories of meeting him either in London or in Singapore, where his daughter lived.

In his younger days, Heam Peng was known for his skill in horse riding, a passion nurtured by his father, who owned a racing stable. Friends recall seeing him ride horses at the Polo Ground in Sepoy Lines, near the Penang Sports Club.

Tragically, Heam Peng, also 70 years old, suffered a heart attack on Thursday evening, just about a month after having a pacemaker implanted. Although paramedics made valiant efforts to revive him, he never regained consciousness.

Three old classmates, all the same age, gone in the space of a single month. This January has been a harsh and poignant reminder of life's fragility.