Netizens rally to support man, 89, looking for his old friend

An elderly man who has not heard from a decades-long friend for months is turning to social media to help locate him - and netizens are rallying to support him.

Thio Gim Siew, 89, told The New Paper that he has not heard from his old friend Isaac Cheong, 79, since May 31. He is not in touch with Mr Cheong's family members. As they often met up privately, they have few mutual friends who might know his whereabouts.

Mr Cheong's last text read: "Got to take on extra work. Cash running low."

Screenshots provided by Mr Thio show that he subsequently texted his friend once or twice a week, but received no reply. Judging by the lack of blue ticks on WhatsApp, Mr Cheong also stopped reading messages after June 10.

"My WhatsApp messages to him never went unresponded at any time," he said. "This time my text showed two ticks, but no response from him."

According to WhatsApp, two check marks indicate the message was successfully delivered to the recipient's phone. Two blue ticks mean that the message was seen by the recipient.

Friends for 51 years

The duo first worked together at a security firm as dealer representatives. They quickly grew close through their work, having lunch together regularly for years.

Even when times changed and both moved on to different companies, they remained in touch through WhatsApp, arranging dinner meet-ups at least once every two months. They briefly worked together again in the early 90s at KGI Securities.

In the early 2000s, Mr Cheong left the industry to be a relief teacher, while Mr Thio continued to work at KGI Securities.

With their long-standing friendship, Mr Thio said it was unlikely that Mr Cheong did not want to be contacted.

"Something must have happened," he said.

Concern grows as friend goes silent

Out of worry about his friend's whereabouts, Mr Thio asked his grandniece Kristen to use social media to locate Mr Cheong. "He's going to retire in about a month's time. He's hoping to catch up with friends and enjoy his retirement," said the 20-year-old undergraduate.

At her granduncle's request, Ms Thio posted a clip on her TikTok account, explaining the situation and asking people if they knew Mr Cheong.

Netizens heartened by the post

The post, which garnered over 81,200 views and 8,656 likes at press time, drew comments from concerned netizens, with many sharing the post in hopes that the pair would be reunited.

One user observed: "Two ticks means the number is still active!"

"My grandma had a similar experience but it turns out that her friend just had to get her phone fixed! Hopefully it's the same here," another netizen said.

One netizen knew someone with the same name, offering to reconnect the pair, but it turned out not to be a match.

Although the search seems futile, Mr Thio remains hopeful of locating his friend, with the help of the younger generation's wide social media network.

"I think the older people won't know, but the kids might know where he is".