Adeline Wong, 48, recalls only fragmented, vague memories of her father: a man quietly emerging from a cell, holding a child for a moment before handing it back to his wife.

For 30 years, Adeline questioned if this memory was real or an illusion born from her longing for a father's love. Now, she is certain it was the last time her father held her.

In Adeline’s family, her father's death was a forbidden topic. Each time she asked, her mother, Teng Kim Choo, would cry. Relatives would evade her questions. "Witnessing my mother's reaction, I decided to bury all my questions", Adeline remembers.

Adeline Wong uses animals for psychological therapy with prisoners, awakening their inherent goodness. *Photo: BRIAN TEO*

The truth only came to light in 2010. Adeline, then 33, discovered it through old newspaper articles. Her father, Wong Kee Chin, was executed for drug trafficking in 1979.

Originally a chef, Wong transported 138 grams of heroin from Malaysia to Singapore due to financial pressure and a promise of 1,000 US dollars in payment. Arrested in November 1976, he became the first Singaporean citizen to be executed under the amended Misuse of Drugs Act of 1975.

A 1977 news report recounted: "Wong stood with his head bowed, maintaining composure as the sentence was read. In contrast, his young wife, standing next to their four-month-old child, collapsed, her cries echoing through the courtroom."

These old news snippets pained Adeline but also helped her understand her mother's suffering. Teng had struggled with infertility for 6 years before having a child, only to discover she was pregnant after her husband's arrest. "A 29-year-old woman, raising a young child alone and facing the humiliation of her husband's photos plastered across newspapers. I wonder how my mother overcame that", she said.

Also in 2010, Teng finally found the courage to give her daughter her husband's last letter. Written on 4/10/1979 – one day before his execution – the death row father instructed his daughter to be filial because her mother had endured so much hardship. He wished for his child to become a useful member of society.

Learning that her father had found faith in prison and faced death peacefully brought Adeline a strange comfort. Those final words became a guiding principle for the rest of her life.

Adeline's childhood was marked by separation. To earn a living, Teng worked 16 hours daily, leaving her daughter with her sister-in-law and only picking her up on Sunday. Fear that her daughter might follow in her father's footsteps made Teng strict, inadvertently pushing mother and daughter apart. Adeline once believed she had been abandoned.

The absence of her father's love and the distance from her mother led Adeline into a crisis during adulthood. She spiraled through mistakes, from petty theft to toxic relationships, searching for acceptance. It was only after an incident leading to a suicide attempt that she found a way out through faith and a new appreciation for her mother's sacrifices. She decided to move back in with her mother to make up for their years of separation.

In 2021, Adeline left her management job to establish the social enterprise Human-Animal Bond in Ministry (HIM), providing psychological therapy for prisoners and former inmates.

She personally brings dogs and cats into prisons, helping inmates rekindle humane emotions. "Some burst into tears upon touching an animal after 16 years of incarceration. That moment makes them feel they are still loved and capable of loving", Adeline shared.

A striking coincidence is that Adeline and her father share the same birthday. She believes her current work is a way to continue her father's spiritual "legacy". If he had a chance to restart his life, perhaps he too would have chosen a path of goodness – just as his daughter is now.

By Nhat Minh (According to Straitimes)