HE WAS found dead by his bed with an empty asthma inhaler beside him.
Now his mother is wondering whether his death could have been prevented had his inhaler not run out at the critical juncture?
Madam Doreen Tan, 54, a cashier, was about to leave the house at 8am on Sunday when she noticed the light in her son's room had been left on.
She told Lianhe Wanbao that as her son had often fallen asleep with the light on, she didn't think much of it.
But when she opened his bedroom door, she was heartbroken to find Mr Adrienne Tay, 26, a pet beautician, slumped over his bed.
'Adrienne was kneeling face down by his bed. He was holding the lid of an asthma inhaler in his hand, but he was motionless,' said a teary-eyed Madam Tan.
His inhaler was found next to him.
'I checked the inhaler and found it was empty,' she said.
She alerted her family members who called for the ambulance and the police.
But by the time the ambulance arrived, Mr Tay could not be resuscitated.
Even though other family members were in the house at the time, she said, they did not hear anything unusual from Mr Tay's room.
Madam Tan also said that her son had suffered from asthma since he was 21/2 years old. He was even hospitalised for his condition as a child, but his asthma attacks became less frequent as he got older.
Madam Tan said her son had been working in the United States as a pet beautician for the past four to five years, and had only returned to Singapore last June.
She said that the change in climate may have caused Mr Tay's asthma attacks to become more frequent since his return. His last asthma attack occurred a few weeks ago.
Mr Tay's elder brother, Melvin, 28, told The New Paper that the frequency of his asthma attacks depended on the state of his health, but usually occurred at night.
Despite his condition, he was an avid animal lover who dreamt of becoming a vet.
He had planned to visit Britain next week for a dog exhibition, said his mother.
This story was first published in The New Paper on Jan 6, 2009.
