School collection to fly body to parents

Press, 19 July 1976, Page 2

School collection to fly body to parents

It is rare that complications from influenza cause deaths of the kind from which the Cashmere High School Malaysian student is thought to have died on Thursday.

A Christchurch general practitioner said yesterday that it was not yet confirmed that Ewe Tuan Sin, aged 19, died from complications arising from influenza. Tuan Sin appeared to have the flu before he died, he said. He had kept good health until then. He complained of being a bit "off-colour" on Tuesday, and his condition on Wednesday was diagnosed by a doctor as influenza. It deteriorated, and on Thursday ha collapsed and died before a doctor arrived.

The practitioner said that influenza virus usually produced aches in muscles, but that in some cases in could affect the muscles around the heart, causing death. The phenomenon happened only "now and again” and usually to people under 30 years of age, he said. Any strain of influenza could cause it In response to the initiative of the Malaysian Students’ Association, pupils, teachers, and the board of governors at Cashmere High School will begin to raise money this morning to send Tuan Sin’s body home to Perak, Malaysia. Mr and Mrs Ewe, who are Buddhists, want the body flown home, but are too poor to pay. The cost could be about $l6OO.

: The principal of Cashmere High School (Mr R. A. Chap- : man) said yesterday that I Tuan Sin was a promising > young student, who was planning to be a mechanical l engineer. He was a hard I worker who “fitted in very > well.” ’ Tuan Sin was a seventh I form student at Papanui High School last year. He got a . “B” bursary but did not pass i English language at the level required for admission to F university. He decided to i transfer to Cashmere High , School and repeat his subj jects this year. His English i was improving steadily and he was doing very well in his i other subjects, Mr Chapman ' said. “It is tragic—just one of : those very unfortunate things," Mr Chapman said.