SINGAPORE, June 30 — Needy hospice and dialysis patients, together with abandoned animals, will get more help, courtesy of a British-turned-Singaporean couple who left S$6 million (RM18.7 million) to three charities here.
Recipients of S$2 million each, the National Kidney Foundation (NKF) will build a new dialysis centre in Marsiling, the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) will upgrade its Animal Welfare Centre in Sungei Tengah, and the Assisi Hospice will give more help to needy patients.
Hosting a press conference yesterday to announce the bequest, Dr Tan Hwa Luck, executor of the Jo and Gerry Essery Estate, said the couple “earned their fortunes from the society, so they believed that they should give back to the society, especially those who are in need” .
Gerry Essery, who died in 2015 at 92, was an accountant at Singapore Glass Factory and later, Allied Chocolate Industries. His wife, Jo, who died in 2013 at 89, was a housewife. They have no children.
Dr Tan, founder of Mount Pleasant Veterinary Group and a close friend of the couple for more than 30 years, said their wealth came about as Mr Essery was a “very good but very conservative investor in property”.
It is unclear how much their estate is worth, although Dr Tan said the S$6 million donation constituted the majority of their assets.
SPCA was picked because Mrs Essery was an animal lover and had served in its management committee for four years in the 1970s. The NKF and Assisi were chosen as helping the needy and sick have always been very close to their heart, Dr Tan added.
For SPCA, this is the largest lump-sum donation received to date, whereas for NKF, this is the largest legacy donation since 2010, when Singaporean housewife Edna Wong Sui Ha left S$4.7 million to the charity when she died of a stroke at 85.
With the bequest, the NKF will begin construction of a new dialysis centre at Block 204, Marsiling Drive, in October. It is expected to begin operations next April and will benefit 132 kidney patients living in the area with its 22 stations.
At the joint press conference, NKF chairman Koh Poh Tiong said the donation “has come in very, very handy” as five Singaporeans come down with kidney failure every day. He also urged the public to continue supporting the charity, “whether it is S$2 million or S$5 a month”.
When asked if there have been any effect on donations after the sacking of its former chief executive officer Edmund Kwok for a “personal indiscretion” with a male employee, Koh said donations “have not been affected”, but added that there is a “slowdown” due to the economic climate.
SPCA has used S$300,000 of the gift to facilitate its move from Mount Vernon to Sungei Tengah last year, and to build an open-air pavilion for education talks and dog training sessions, said its executive director Jaipal Singh Gill.
The remaining sum will go towards the upgrading and maintenance of its Animal Welfare Centre, including its clinic, which is equipped to provide only basic veterinary services at the moment.
Assisi Hospice, which provides palliative care for the terminally ill, will use the donation to help needy patients from low-income families, said its chief executive officer Choo Shiu Ling.
Halimah Yacob, Member of Parliament for Marsiling-Yew Tee Group Representation Constituency, who was also present at yesterday’s press conference, said the generous contribution “is where we see participation from individuals with (not just) the means, but also with a big heart to contribute to make sure that others with lesser means... are able to lead better lives”. — TODAY
