Remembering Ivor Thevathasan

I received a WhatsApp group chat message this morning that Ivor had passed on. He was 84.

I knew Ivor when I became a member of the ACS OBA MC in 1992. He had already been in the committee for some time.

He was a medical doctor and his father and grandfather were both illustrious ACS boys. His wife was an ACS teacher.

We were always friendly to each other and chatted whenever we met. Sometimes we spoke over the telephone. I also remember him as a vintage car enthusiast.

I last saw him in January this year. I received a call from a friend who informed me that his wife had called my friend to inform her that Ivor had been scammed of a large sum of money. She asked if I could see them to find out what happened and if anything could be done to help.

So I visited Ivor and his wife at his home. He was in a wheelchair but he was lucid and he struck me as strong physically and mentally. I didn’t think he was having any serious medical issues.

I spent about an hour with them. Unfortunately he had been careless and some scammers had taken advantage of him and he lost a large sum of money from his bank account. He said the family might need to sell their house to cover the loss. His wife was quiet throughout and he did all the talking. I could sense that he was embarrassed with what he had done and didn’t want to talk about it, especially in front of his wife. I gave him some advice but didn’t think much could be done as none of the scammers were in Singapore and the monies had left his bank accounts. Even the police at that stage could not do anything.

I really felt very sorry that he lost all the life savings of the family at this late stage of his life through carelessness. This was also the first time I had come across a first hand case of someone having been scammed and I could see the devastating impact it has on the person who was cheated and on his family.

I was surprised that he deteriorated so fast since that visit and passed away so soon. The shock and depression caused by the loss must have contributed to this to a large extent.

Rest in Peace.