Episode 13: Leroy

Estrangement from his family was the price Leroy paid on the path to fulfil his dream of being a drag artiste.

When Leroy was 18, his father walked in on him while he was putting on face powder. Furious, he gave Leroy a good beating before throwing him out of the house. Years on, Leroy successfully donned drag costumes to fulfil a dream -- will his family ever welcome him back?

Leroy's parents were very young when they had him. So his grandmother raised him from birth. She became so attached she did not want to return him to his mother, causing a rift.

Although his parents would still visit him occasionally when he was growing up, they frowned on Leroy's tendencies to befriend girls and play with make-up. When Leroy was 18, his father walked in on him while he was putting on face powder. He was furious. He gave Leroy a good beating before throwing him out of the house. Leroy became estranged from his family.

A few years passed. His sister, Sarminah, sought him out at Boom Boom Room where he was making his debut as a showgirl. Sarminah encouraged him to contact his mother, but at that time she did not want to talk to him. Even when he went to her home, she would only speak to him through the window.

Leroy tried to forget his family but incident after incident kept bringing him back to them. First, his parents got divorced. And then Sarminah died in a car accident. In the aftermath of the tragedy, Leroy decided to try to contact his mother again.

Leroy's mother finally went to see him perform with some of her friends. She did not know what her son did and greeting her in drag made Leroy nervous. But it was an emotional moment when, trembling like a leaf with tears streaking down her face, he invited her on to stage. The moment ended in a hug and wild applause.

Episode 12: On Wings of Butterflies (part 2)

A child born during World War II yearns for her Japanese father, a member of the Occupation Forces who was repatriated back to his home country. Innocently, the young girl sends a butterfly to find him, but little does she know that the butterfly's journey would take a long 32 years.

Monica searched relentlessly for her father from the 60s onwards. Trying to trace him through the Japanese embassy, various Japanese organisations, approaching newspapers and even asking Japanese people she came to meet through her work, Monica had begun losing hope of ever finding her father by the 80s. The butterfly of her childhood must have lost its way.

Episode 11: On Wings of Butterflies (part 1)

A child born during World War II yearns for her Japanese father, a member of the Occupation Forces who was repatriated back to his home country. Innocently, the young girl sends a butterfly to find him, but little does she know that the butterfly's journey would take a long 32 years.

In the post-war years, Monica Choon was about six years old when she learnt about her Japanese father from her aunt and grandmother. Mr. Murai failed to return from work one day after the war ended and was never heard from again. It was only when Monica was 13 that she plucked up the courage to ask her mother directly about her father. Mdm. Tham's final wish before her demise in 1981 was for Monica to be reunited with her father.

Episode 10: Fate

A mentally disabled Ming lived in Tampines Home after his foster mother passed on. By a twist of fate, he was reunited with his birth family.

Ming was 37 when he was featured in Friday Weekly, a Chinese newspaper for secondary school students. The article highlighted the difficulties that Ming faced as a mentally disabled person. A secondary one student read the report and recalled her late grandmother talking about her long lost uncle called "Ming".

Adopted at birth, Ming, a bright child, suffers a high fever that leaves him mentally disabled for life.

Episode 9: Radio Connection

A radio DJ reunites three children and their mother after 35 years.

Post natal depression and bad company lured a lonely mother into a life of prostitution -- leading to her desertion of her three young children. By a twist of fate, a radio DJ reunites them decades later.

Episode 8: Birthmark

Drugged and raped, a 15 year old girl falls pregnant. 18 years later her son seeks to unearth the truth behind his adoption.

Michael, 18, was ashamed that he was an adopted child because he had always thought of himself as an abandoned baby. Finding his birth mother, Michael will find out about the dark secret behind her choice to give him away.

Episode 7: Little Sister

A Chinese baby, considered jinxed because her father died on the day she was born was given away. In a twist of fate, it was the adoption that opened doors of opportunity leading to her success in life.

On the day Mr. Chong Gim Soon's youngest sister was born, his father passed away from cancer. According to Chinese beliefs, the child was the cause of his death and should not be kept by the family. After 40 years, Mr. Chong approached the Berita Harian to uncover his lost little sister.

Episode 6: The Contract

A piece of paper dated June 1958 is a constant reminder to Mr. Tan Jun Ming that he was sold by his parents for $700 – several months' wages in those days.

Mr. Tan Jun Ming was bought by a foster mother as "insurance", hoping for a care-giver in her old age. As a boy, Jun Ming was stripped and chained to the bed for being naughty. Ill-treated and unloved, Jun Ming was still able to rise above it all.

A piece of paper dated June 1958 is a constant reminder to Mr. Tan Jun Ming that he was sold by his parents for $700 - several months' wages in those days.

His foster mother had had several miscarriages and bought three children as insurance, in the hope that at least one would take care of her in her old age. His foster father died several years later.

When he was 18, he saw his birth certificate for the first time. From the information, he traced his natural parents. But their reunion was an anti-climax with neither warmth nor tears. They did not even explain why he was sold.

Despite his mistreatment, he could not bear to abandon his foster mother and took care of her until she died aged 93. His past makes him strive to be a good parent and has inspired him to be a voluntary probation officer for juvenile delinquents, something he has been doing for the past 16 years.

Episode 5: Where I Belong

Drugs and gangsterism ruined Paul Ang's life... and took his daughter away from him.

51-year-old Pastor Paul Ang last saw his daughter, Ms. Ang Hwee Lay, 22 years ago. She was only four when his wife divorced him and severed their ties completely.

Paul grew up in the notorious Bukit Ho Swee area during the '50s and '60s. Even a child had to join a gang or fell prey to constant bullying and beatings. Gangs and drugs were inseparable and Paul was easily influenced. By his 20s Paul was a man consumed by drugs. Hwee Lay's mother met him then and knew about his addiction, but fell blindly in love with him. Finding herself pregnant, Hwee Lay's mother went against her family's wishes and registered their marriage.

Two weeks before their ceremonial wedding, the police came and took Paul away. Hwee Lay was born when Paul was in prison and the first time he held her was when she was three. Paul's wife left after five years of tolerating his drug habit. Awareness dawned upon him the day his elderly mother visited him in prison. With knowledge of his mother dying from cancer, Paul prayed hard he would be released early. When released, Paul made a promise to himself that he would never be behind bars again. Through help from a halfway house, he made a complete turn-around.

Paul became a pastor and managed a home for old folks. But not a day went by when he did not pray for his long-lost daughter, his only child.

Click title to read morePastor Paul Ang seeks forgiveness from a daughter he let down 20 years ago. You might hold the key to reuniting this father with his only child.

Some feel that Pastor Paul Ang has a shred of his violent past reflected on his face. It might be actually an echo of pain from the separation of his only child.

The Beginning of the End
Born as Ang Qing Jie and immersed in Bukit Ho Swee’s notorious drug and gangster-ridden neighbourhood, Pastor Ang grew up looking up to leaders of secret societies and aspired to be one himself. A curious sniff of heroin had plunged Ang into the bottomless pit of drug addiction so consuming that Ang committed robbery to finance his drugs habit. Drug trafficking, fighting in gang clashes and drug consumption became the norm for the younger Ang.

Tough Love
In his youth, Ang was always concerned about his mother despite his secret society activities and visited her at her noodle hawker stall occasionally. A beautiful 17-year-old student helping out at his mother’s shop caught his eyes – and both youngsters fell fast in love despite Ang’s background. Protesting against her parents who opposed to their marriage, Ang’s girlfriend went on a hunger strike and won their assent. Sadly, Ang was thrown into prison again before their Chinese marriage formalities. In prison he missed the birth of their daughter too.

Driven by his drug habit, Ang was in and out of prison during his daughter’s childhood. Imprisoned, there was nothing he could do when his wife decided to divorce him and leave with his daughter. It was six years into their marriage, and the fifth time Paul went to prison. Ang got a rude awakening only when his aged mother visited him in the terminal stage of her cancer.

Finding Faith
From the other side of the prison door, Ang’s prison warden reminded a worried Ang that time was not always on his side. Passing him a Bible, the warden hoped for Ang to turn over a new leaf and treasure what was left of his life. Ang learnt to pray, begging for a chance to at least care for his ill mother.

Ang got his chance to care for his mother when he was released from prison, but it was not for long as his mother passed on shortly after. Then Ang found himself alone. Hoping to make amends for not caring enough for his mother while she was alive, Pastor Ang set up an old age home at Serangoon Gardens. By now, Pastor Ang was a graduate of Bible College, and also cleansed of his drug addiction from a Christian drug rehabilitation centre, the Helping Hand. He continues in his quest today to care for the aged at the home and also counsels wayward youths.

The Only Child
Pastor Ang cuts a quiet figure in front of the cameras. Now at peace with himself and remarried to a woman he met at church, Pastor Ang cannot forget the child he had let down so many years ago. His greatest wish is to see her again and seek her forgiveness. Pastor Ang has a possible lead – he last saw his ex-wife at a Hong Kong Street Zhen Ji cze char stall opened by her brother. The stall has since closed down.

The search for his only daughter, Ms Ang Hwee Lay, carries on for Pastor Ang. Ms Ang would be 25 years old this year.

“I just wish for one chance to make up for the past. Once, just once is enough. I really want to tell her that I love her.”

If you have any information on Ms Ang Hwee Lay, please email to fullcircle@mediacorpstudios.com or call the Full Circle Hotline 6350 3720. Log on to www.fullcircle.com.sg for more information and search cases.

by MediaCorp

Episode 4: Romeo and 50 Juliets

A man marries 52 times only to return to his first wife in his old age.

Kamarudin was a young dashing police constable when he fell in love and married Khadijah. After going separate ways, Kamarudin would marry another 51 times.

Kamarudin, a young dashing police constable, fell for Khadijah the moment he saw her. Taking a long while before he succeeded in winning her heart, he was convinced Khadijah was the one woman he would spend his life with, and they got married. However, as time passed other ‘distractions' swayed Kamarudin from remaining faithful to Khadijah. Without Khadijah's knowledge, Kamarudin took a second wife. When Khadijah eventually learnt the heartbreaking truth, she divorced him.

Over time, Kamarudin marries another 51 times. People labelled him as a Casanova but to him, their comments were all lies because he did not have affairs or flings like other men. If he liked a woman, he will marry her.

When Kamarudin was in his 70s, his fifty-second wife passed away. Not long after, Kamarudin and Khadijah meet again. By then, Khadijah was also widowed. Kamarudin felt like it was seeing her for the first time again. Convinced that it was fate that brought them back together, he immediately he grabbed the opportunity to ask for her hand in marriage again. Initially, Khadijah rejected him, but eventually she relented. And thus Kamarudin got married for the fifty-third time… with his first love.

by MediaCorp

Episode 3: Reunion of Strangers

For almost twenty years, Mr. Wong lived in exile deep in the jungle with fellow communist comrades, separated from a loved one in Singapore of whose existence he was not aware of. This is a story of a reunion of two complete strangers, connected by a deep bond.

Mr. Wong fled the country in the '60s, leaving behind a wife and their unborn child. 20 years down the road, in another country, he would meet a stranger for the first time: his daughter.

Life was all uncertainty for Mr. Wong in Singapore during the ‘60s. The assemblyman faced much pressure because of factions vehemently against his party’s ideals – communism. Returning home from work one day, Wong was informed of a police haul on his fellow comrades and party members. Left with no choice, Wong hastily packed his belongings and fled the country.

In the chaos, he had left behind his wife in Singapore. Little did he know that he had also unknowingly abandoned his firstborn – his wife was pregnant with their daughter. The couple lost touch over the years, as Wong travelled from country to country. Growing up, Priscilla knew nothing about her father, much less his political background.

The signing of the 1989 Peace Accord in Thailand was a watershed event for Thailand, Malaysia and the Malayan Communist Party. The communists finally emerged out of the jungles, and settled in a cluster of land allocated to them by the Thai government called the Peace Villages. This presented Wong with a perfect opportunity to reconnect with his past, a past he had abandoned one night in the early ‘60s. He managed to get in touch with a relative in Singapore, who was the bearer of some shocking news to Wong – he had a daughter that his wife never told him about. This Good Samaritan had also made contact with Priscilla, and told her the overwhelming truth about her father.

Then on a scholarship studying in United Kingdoms, Priscilla returned to Singapore immediately before travelling solo to Southern Thailand. After leaving his home for 20 years, Wong finally met his daughter for the first time.

by MediaCorp

Episode 2: Still My Son

He is a male prostitute on death penalty for committing murder. She hardly knows him, but she loves him nonetheless because he is her son.

The first time Mdm. Yong set eyes again on her youngest son in 17 years was in court -- when he was tried for murder.

A couple approached Mrs. Chua (Mdm. Yong) when times were hard, offering to adopt her youngest son. Desperation and poverty drove Mrs. Chua to give up her two-year-old son for adoption 17 years ago. Her fisherman husband had a meager income and gambled it away. Eventually, she moved out, hoping to fend for herself and her three sons by working in an electronics factory.

She was barely making ends meet and often borrowed heavily from relatives just to put food on the table. That was when a couple who was family friends approached Mrs. Chua about adopting her youngest son. Although she refused at first, she could not hold out because it was very hard.

Her son was renamed Alan Lee. His adoptive parents did not allow contact with his real family. All Mrs. Chua had thereafter of him was one lone snapshot of him.

Over the years, she thought of him, but the shock came when suddenly, in 1997, one of Alan's adoptive sisters called. Alan had become a male prostitute and was arrested for bashing an old brothel owner to death. The next piece of bad news came when Mrs. Chua confirmed Alan's birth date with his lawyer. That made him over 18 at the time of the killing, meaning he would not escape the death penalty.

The first time they met after 17 years was when Alan stood in the dock. Unable to talk although they were just 10 metres apart, Mrs Chua and Alan could only exchange smiles and glances. When the death sentence was passed, Alan could only smile calmly at Mrs Chua before being led away.

by MediaCorp

Episode 1: The Search

The bond between two twin sisters remains unbroken despite one being brought up Chinese and the other Malay.

At the age of 12, Mdm. Noorsia Suyut suddenly discovered she is Chinese. Her Malay parents revealed the truth about her adoption when making her identification card.

But the real surprise only came in 1998, after her adopted father's demise when Noorsia, now 48, saw her birth certificate for the first time. On it was written "2nd Twin".

Wanting to find her sister, Noorsia made appeals through Malay and Chinese dailies with whatever little information she had. In a twist of fate, she found her birth mother instead. She was overjoyed as she never thought either of her birth parents was still alive.

Nevertheless, the reunion was bittersweet. Her mother said little to explain why Noorsia had been given up for adoption. The only information she offered was that she had separated from Noorsia's father a long time ago and subsequently lost touch with all her children. Noorsia's search for her twin seemed to be at a dead end, although something within her kept on hoping.

Then in January 2001, Mdm. Noorsia's eldest daughter, Mdm. Khairunnisa Wahab, spotted a Chinese lady who looked very much like her mother at Hougang mall. She could not let the lady go without questioning her. But as the lady, Mdm. Chua Poh Choo spoke only Mandarin and Hokkien, and Mdm. Khairunnisa knew only English and Malay, they had to speak through an interpreter.

Mdm. Chua was a little apprehensive as Mdm. Khairunnisa was questioning her on personal issues, but she answered anyway. Soon Mdm. Khairunnisa was overjoyed to learn that Mdm. Chua Poh Choo shared the same birthday as Mdm. Noorsia and was indeed her long lost twin.

The two sisters were reunited that evening at Mdm. Noorsia's flat. Now, Mdm. Chua is trying to learn Malay and English. Although it sounds "rojak", to her it doesn't matter, so long as she is able to communicate with Noorsia.

Click title to read moreHow would you feel if you found out you had a twin sibling, after decades of living by yourself? Reunited when they were both 50, twin sisters Mdm. Noorsia Suyut and Mdm. Chua Poh Choo's lives would finally come full circle except for one last wish.

The sight that greeted me was quite strange indeed. The pair I was to interview are mirror images, and yet one was a smiling middle-aged auntie with shoulder-length hair, while the other was an eager lady with her head covered by a tudung. If I had not known better, I would have thought Madam Noorsia Suyut was Malay. Interestingly, she turned out to be Chinese.

Adopted by a Malay family, Madam Noorsia would only come to know that she had an identical twin sister upon her foster father’s demise. Clearing his belongings after his death, Madam Noorsia chanced upon her original birth certificate.

Recalling the sudden revelation, Madam Noorsia said: "When I saw '2nd Twin' on my birth certificate, I was so eager to find who was my sister, because normally twins are never separated. It was my daughter who did all the searching and earlier, instead of a sister appearing, it was my mother who appeared from our searches."

"My mother had told me that my late father was an opium smoker, and they had a lot of problems, and that it was our father who took us away. She wasn't given a chance to meet up," said Madam Noorsia.

Madam Noorsia's birth mother and foster mother have since met, and they communicate well as her birth mother spoke Malay.

Seated quietly beside Madam Noorsia was her twin sister Madam Chua Poh Choo. Besides nodding her head and giving short quiet responses, all Madam Chua could do was smile widely. Fifty-five years on, Madam Chua was deeply happy to have her sister perched beside her on the sofa -– after being separated when they were just two weeks old.

Both sisters looked pained by the limitations of their communication. Madam Noorsia spoke only Chinese and Hokkien, while her twin sister spoke English, Malay and a smattering of Hokkien. The twin sisters usually got by with Madam Chua's daughter translating for the two.

Madam Chua said, "There are a lot of things I want to tell her, but sometimes it's rather inconvenient to speak through our children."

Madam Noorsia explained that Madam Chua was a much quieter person compared to her own bubbly personality, probably because Madam Chua never attended school and had a hard childhood. Madam Chua hinted at a painful past, drawing tears from both sisters.

Madam Noorsia could only lament: "Twins, but now of difference races. How I wish she's the same, like Muslim, so we can go mosque together. At this age, where else to go? Cannot go disco right?" Both sisters laughed hard, their hands entwined between their laps. "Aiyoh! Very susah (difficult)! I've got so much to tell her and she's got so much to tell me but we cannot express ourselves," continued Mdm Noorsia with much mirth.

Madam Chua remembered a nanny nicknamed "dua bui neo" which meant "big fat lady" who used to sell dumplings at "Huixia", the swimming area behind Bright Hill Columbarium. The nanny knew both her birth father and foster father, and Madam Chua was given away but remained in contact with her father and two elder brothers. Madam Noorsia only knew after meeting Madam Chua that a third brother, the youngest of their family, was adopted as well. The youngest brother was given away as their father had no money to pay the nanny.

Now, Madam Chua and Madam Noorsia are hoping to locate their youngest brother, Chua Ah Kiat again. They only know that he was adopted by a Chinese family. He might not even realise his family background as his birth certificate might be changed upon adoption. The last Madam Chua knew about Ah Kiat was that he could have been given to a family leaving at "Hai Nam Shua", which is today's Lavender area.

Despite the challenges, Madam Noorsia remains hopeful: "I believe in fate -– things that belong to you, will be yours right? As a Muslim I believe that. For instance, I really never expected it and I really think it's fate that made us meet again. And I hope fate will allow me to meet my brother too."

If you have any news of Mr Chua Ah Kiat, the twins' youngest brother, please email to fullcircle@mediacorpstudios.com, or call the Full Circle Hotline at 6350 3720. Log on to www.fullcircle.com.sg for more information and search cases.

by MediaCorp