Man Who Was Found Dead in Jurong Lake Gardens Had Just Married Last Month

A 25-year-old Malaysian man, known as Cai, was found dead in Jurong Lake Gardens in the early morning hours of 5 October.  

At 8.35 am, the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) received a call for water rescue assistance at 6 Jurong Lake Link. When the paramedics arrived, they found Cai floating in the water and, despite their efforts, pronounced him dead at the scene. 

According to reports by one XiaoHongShu user, the police then cordoned off the section of Jurong Lake Gardens. 

No foul play is suspected, but the investigations are ongoing. In the meantime, Cai’s body has been returned to his family in Johor on 6 October, with his funeral scheduled for 8 October. 

Recently Married, Moved to Singapore

Shi Min Daily News reports that Cai had moved to Singapore alone in 2023 from Johor, Malaysia, for work. He is one of the many Malaysians relocating to Singapore seeking better opportunities, higher salaries, and the advantage of a favourable exchange rate. 

Though the details of his work are unknown, even to his friends. 

In a statement to Shin Min Daily News, a friend who had known Cai for four to five years described him as an extrovert, someone who was friendly and outgoing. 

Despite staying in touch with Cai since he first landed in Singapore, the 28-year-old did not know where and what Cai was doing for work. 

More tragically, Cai had just recently tied the knot last month on 16 September. Facebook posts from his then-fiancé and now-wife show the happy couple preparing for the wedding day and the wedding itself. 

In one of them, Cai’s wife writes that she “married the boy who said he wanted to marry me at first sight”. 

On 9 September, Cai’s wife posted a picture of the two of them in a posed wedding portrait, her in a traditional white wedding dress and him in a matching white suit.  

The next few posts by Cai’s wife were of the wedding itself on 16 September, showing them signing the legal documents and posing for group shots with their family. 

In the caption, she thanks Cai for “being with me for these five years” and calls him the “light in my world from beginning to end.” 

More photos from the wedding are posted a week later, with the caption, “We are not related by blood, but we are each other’s closest person.”

Unfortunately, this sweet love story was cut short with Cai’s passing. 

Cai’s obituary post was reshared on his wife’s Facebook page with only a crying emoji as a caption. Shin Min Daily News reports that more than 280 people commented on the post before it was removed. 

Several of Cai’s friends and relatives have expressed their condolences on Facebook, but there has been no explanation offered or no mention of how the accident happened and what he was doing in Jurong Lake Gardens.