Aide recounts Wong looking exhausted after trek
KOTA KINABALU: Minister of Health and People’s Wellbeing Datuk Stephen Wong Tien Fatt’s public relations secretary Henry Shim, who accompanied the minister throughout the hike at Tambaig Adventure Park in Kg Duvanson, Putaton early yesterday morning, said Wong, being a former member of JCI himself, had always been supportive of the programmes organized by the Junior Chamber International (JCI).
Shim said more than 40 participants joined the hiking activity at Tambaig Adventure Park, including former Putatan MP, Datuk Marcus Mojigoh.
“Datuk Stephen Wong and I had arrived at the starting point at 5.30am to meet the organizer and participants.”
He said the activity was supposed to start at 6am but was delayed for half an hour.
Shim said he had accompanied Wong on the entire trek and had asked the latter how he was doing, to which the minister reassured that he was fine.
Wong completed the threekilometre trek in 1.5 hours and returned to the starting point at about 8am.
At that moment, Shim noticed that Wong looked exhausted and suggested that paramedics inspected him in an ambulance on standby at the location.
“Datuk Stephen’s blood pressure was normal, only his heart was beating faster than usual.”
Wong took a rest in the ambulance and left at 8.30am, while Shim drove away in his own vehicle.
After a while, Shim received a call from Wong’s driver saying that the latter was feeling severely unwell.
He immediately instructed the driver to send the minister to KPJ Specialist Hospital in Damai.
As Shim was making arrangements with the hospital over the phone, the driver called again telling him that Wong had fallen unconscious.
The minister was subsequently rushed to QEH I at 9.35am. Despite the best efforts from the medical team, Wong breathed his last at 12.15pm.
Wong’s body will be at Fook Lu Siew Funeral Parlour till today (March 29) for family and friends to pay their last respects, and thereafter will be sent taken back to Sandakan for funeral on Saturday.
Details of the funeral service will be announced in due course.
Wong was first elected as MP for Sandakan in 2013 and reelected in 2018. After the 14th General Election (GE14), Wong was appointed as nominated assemblyman and had served as the Sabah Minister of Health and People’s Wellbeing.
He joined DAP in 2011 and was elected as Sabah DAP chairman in 2015.
Before his active role in DAP Sabah, Wong served as Sandakan Councillor and secretary-general of the Sandakan Chamber of Commerce.