SINGAPORE and KOBE, Japan: When Ian Chan learnt that his father, 74, had gone missing last December, hours had passed already.His mother had woken up at about 3am and realised his father was not in their Bukit Panjang flat. The 31-year-old, who was staying at his mother-in-law’s home that weekend, was told the news in the afternoon.It was the third time his father, who had dementia, had wandered off. On the previous occasions, passers-by found the elderly man nearby after he had fallen, and they called an ambulance. But no call came this time.Chan searched the neighbourhood and his father’s usual haunts, but to no avail. At the end of the second day, he returned home late and broke down, fearing that his father “might not be alive already”.
His father had only S$20 in his wallet. He could “communicate clearly” but would sometimes appear to speak to someone who was not there, Chan said.
One from the family album: Chan’s parents. (Photo: Ian Chan)
The search eventually ended in heartbreak. On Dec 23, the police found the man’s body in a corner of a park about 300m from the family’s home.Chan had searched nearby but did not think to look in the bushes. To this day, he does not know how his father died.His experience highlights a risk more families may face as Singapore’s population ages. About 100,000 people here are living with dementia, a number the Ministry of Health expects will grow to 152,000 by 2030.Dementia Singapore estimates that an average of two people with the condition go missing each month. Most of them are found within a day, but some can be difficult to locate even when they do not travel far.
