By Crystal Chan

THE last surviving male-line great-grandson of legendary Singapore philanthropist Lim Nee Soon died on Friday.

He never achieved his dream of having children and continuing the family line.

Mr Alvin Lim Kiat Hwee, 44, was determined to marry and have children, despite suffering from a terminal illness since he was 2.

He had wanted to give his parents, Mr Roland Lim Eng Ser and Mrs Lucy Lim, grandchildren.

But before he could fulfil his wish he died of thalassaemia intermedia, a hereditary blood disorder, on Friday.

Speaking to The New Paper at their Opera Estate home, Mrs Lim, 72, said: "I told my son to forget about marrying because he won't live long and it won't be fair to his wife to be a young widow.

"But he kept telling me he wanted to give me and my husband eight grandchildren and to continue the Lim surname."

It was difficult finding a wife for Mr Lim as the illness, which causes chronic anaemia, bone deformities and dark skin pigmentation, gave him a mouse-like appearance.

Mrs Lim said: "We tried arranging matchmaking sessions for him but every girl turned away after one look at Alvin."

His younger brother, Vincent, died from the same illness at age 41 in 2007. He was single.

The brothers' poor health prevented them from pursuing post-O-level education.

Instead, they became full-time share traders.

Mrs Lim said: "People may say that qualifications matter, but looks also count when employers choose interviewees.

"I believe that one look at my sons' photos and no employer would want to meet them. When they were children, they were so weak they couldn't even carry their school bags."

Photo: NP, Cystal Chan

Convinced that no Singapore woman would marry him, Mr Lim turned to Vietnamese matchmaking agencies.

And Ms Mary Nguyen, 21, accepted his proposal just four days after their first meeting.

Valentine's Day wedding

They registered their marriage on Valentine's Day last year and held the traditional Chinese banquet at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel five months later.

When The New Paper interviewed the couple last year, Mr Lim told this reporter: "Something about her made me like her... I guess that's physical attraction."

Ms Nguyen married him despite knowing about his illness.

She told The New Paper then: "I can't describe it but I just knew he was the man I wanted to marry."

Mr Lim's poor health, however, disrupted their marital bliss.

On 10 Sep, he was admitted to Mount Elizabeth Hospital after complaining of weakness in his legs.

His mother said: "He was so weak he couldn't walk. In the hospital, doctors told us his blood count was dangerously low. But Alvin was determined to live."

Over his two-month stay in hospital, Mr Lim was given 36 bags of blood because his illness made it difficult for his body to produce haemoglobin, the protein in red blood cells that carries oxygen through the body.

But the blood transfusions overloaded his body with iron and gradually, his organs began failing.

His parents said he sensed his death was near, as he insisted on going home the day he died.

Mr Roland Lim, who is in his 70s, said: "We brought him home early on Friday morning and helped him to his bed. But he insisted on sitting up so he could breathe more easily.

"So we helped him to the sofa in the living room and then all of us, except Mary, rested in our rooms. A few hours later, he was gone."

Ms Nguyen held her husband's hands throughout his final hours.

She said in Mandarin: "When his grip on my hand loosened, his eyes were closed. I called his name but he didn't respond. I knew he was dead and I called my in-laws."

Mrs Lim said: "He looked as if he was napping on the sofa but I knew he was gone. Alvin wanted to die on a Friday as Lord Jesus also died on a Friday. He got his wish."

Miracle

Mrs Lim added: "I've lost two sons but I know now that Alvin is in a better place.

Doctors told me previously that my sons would die in their 20s but it's a miracle they survived till today.

"The Lims have no more male-line

male descendants but it's God's will. There are female descendants but their children won't carry the Lim name."

The Lims' sole surviving child, Miss Monica Lim, 42, a civil servant, is single.

More than 50 relatives and friends paid their respects at the wake yesterday.

All of them remembered Mr Lim as having inherited the charitable traits of his great-grandfather and grandfather, Mr Lim Chong Pang, a prominent Teochew community leader who has a community club, wet market and military camp named after him.

Mr Vincent Fong, 51, a businessman, described Mr Lim as someone who "cared for others before himself".

In 2003, Mr Fong's elder daughter, June, now 22, had an appendicitis attack and had to be rushed to the hospital.

He recalled: "It was raining heavily and I wasn't well that day. Yet Alvin drove to my home to take June to the hospital."

Mr Lim's sister, Miss Monica Lim, said: "We'll miss Alvin. Though he's no longer with us, what's important is the memory and legacy he left behind."

He will be cremated this afternoon at Mandai Crematorium and his ashes will be placed next to his brother's in the Church of our Lady of Perpetual Succour in Siglap.

This article was first published in The New Paper.