Filial 'Beggar Boy' was everyone's DREAM SON

Autistic 14-year-old begs at coffee shops to feed jobless mum
After he falls to death, AMK stallowners and residents rally to raise money for funeral

By Chong Shin Yen
December 30, 2008

When news that Sebestian Yeo Wei Xiong, 14, had died, scores of neighbours and coffee shop stallholders rallied to raise money for his funeral.

Residents of Ang Mo Kio Avenue 4 were moved by the teen who loved his mother unconditionally.
When she was jobless, he roamed the coffee shops in his neighbourhood for two years, begging customers for money to buy food.

When people learnt of his death from a fall in July, they huddled around coffee shop tables. They traded stories of what they knew about him, and how he was the kind of son they wished they had.

Like how he was a filial boy, never failing to set aside a portion of the food he had bought, so he could take it home later to give his unemployed mother.
She suffered from depression, and would sometimes lock the door on him.

When that happened, he would hang the packet of food outside the door before going off to spend the night at a void deck, or at a nearby bus stop.

He would never complain, neighbours said, or raise his voice. He was always soft-spoken and polite, with a shy smile.

The stallholders called him Ah Boy. Others referred to him as Beggar Boy.

He died in a fall off the 12th floor of a block on Ang Mo Kio Street 61. The state coroner on 18 Dec recorded a verdict of misadventure. (See report on facing page.)

The details of Ah Boy's family background are murky.
He had two younger siblings, according to court documents.

But neighbours said that he and his mother were the only ones living in the rented two-room flat at Block 626, Ang Mo Kio Avenue 4.

His mother, who is in her 30s, had told neighbours that she was divorced.

Stopped attending school

Ah Boy used to attend a special school but stopped more than a year before his death.

The burden of caring for his mother and providing for their needs fell on his frail shoulders.

Although he was in his teens, he was small for his age and looked like a primary school boy.

'He was always in the same few sets of clothes. It was like he never grew in the past few years,' said Madam Tam.

'Sometimes, they would buy him food instead of giving him the money. He would break into a smile as he left the coffee shop, clutching the packed food tightly.'

She and other neighbours would ask Ah Boy if he wanted to wait in their flat, but he would always decline.
'He was so pitiful. His mother couldn't look after herself and he was left to fend for himself,' added Madam Shen.
When the police went to Ah Boy's flat to inform his mother of his death, she refused to open the door.

And so, Ah Boy's body remained at the mortuary, waiting to be identified.

When she went to a neighbour's flat three days later to use the phone, Madam Tam called the police, who took her to the mortuary. They were accompanied by two social workers.

The sight of his body was too much for her to bear. She fainted and had to be taken to hospital.

By then, news of Ah Boy's death had spread. His neighbours and those working at the market and nearby coffee shops banded together to raise money for his funeral.

More than 100 people donated sums ranging from $10 to $600. Within a day, $3,300 was collected.

Noodle stall owner Madam Lai, 46, initiated the drive and helped with the funeral arrangements.
'I just felt so much for this young boy and wanted to do something for him,' she said. Madam Tam helped to engage a monk to conduct prayers and rites for Ah Boy. His ashes were later placed in a temple in Ang Mo Kio. Madam Tam said that the funeral expenses came up to about $2,000. The remaining money was later given to Ah Boy's mother.

'I hope,' said Madam Tam, 'he has gone to a better place.'

On the day of the coroner's inquiry into his death, Madam Tam asked his mother if she had visited Ah Boy's niche. The woman replied in Hokkien: 'I don't know how to go there (to the temple).'

He falls trying to FLEE from cop

AT about 12.20am on 30 Jul, a man called the police to say that a girl was wandering around the coffee shop at Block 632, Ang Mo Kio Avenue 4, according to court documents.

HUMBLE HOME: Sebestian lived with his mother in a two-room rental flat in Ang Mo Kio Avenue 4.

The 'girl' was, in fact, Ah Boy. The skinny teenager was often mistaken for a girl because of his shoulder-length hair.

Police officers arrived at 1am and learnt from Ah Boy's friend that he had been begging for food at the coffee shop for the past few days.

The police asked Ah Boy where he lived. But they had problems communicating with him because of his autism.

Autism is a brain development disorder that begins in early childhood and affects verbal and non-verbal communication skills.

Ah Boy gave the police a wrong address and said he wanted to walk home on his own.

Fearing for his safety, an officer trailed him to make sure that he returned home safely.

When Ah Boy realised that he was being followed, he tried to dodge the officer by darting between the pillars.

The officer last saw him near the lift lobby of Block 646, Ang Mo Kio Street 61. He rushed forward but lost sight of Ah Boy again.

Meanwhile, the lift went up to the 12th storey.

A few minutes later, Ah Boy's body was found at the foot of the block. One of his yellow slippers was wedged in a small opening of the parapet wall on the 12th storey.

State Coroner Earnest Lau said in his findings that Ah Boy had panicked and somehow fallen to his death. On 18 Dec, he recorded a verdict of misadventure.