A man who ran a successful business selling grass jelly drinks during the Japanese Occupation managed to save up quite a bit of money.
But all of his efforts came to naught as the banana notes (the currency in use under the Japanese Occupation) he had saved turned into useless paper overnight when the Japanese army surrendered.
This shocked him so greatly that he suffered a mental break-down, and had to be warded in Woodbridge Hospital for nearly 70 years. The Woodbridge patient, known as Mr Goh, passed away on 18th Jan 2020 at the age of 103.
According to Mr Goh’s only son, he was a hardworking man and a good businessman who ran a successful small business selling grass jelly drinks at Clifford Pier during the Japanese Occupation. He scrimped and saved every penny so that his family could have a better life, but did not expect all his savings to become worthless after the Japanese army surrendered. This caused Mr Goh to suffer a mental break-down which he never recovered from.
According to the younger Mr Goh, his father had been healthy even as he was staying in Woodbridge. He often walked around and had a good appetite. Things only changed two years ago when Mr Goh fell and became unable to walk, causing his body to deteriorate rapidly.
Mr Goh has since been cremated yesterday.