SINGAPORE – For years, Madam Rahimah Lee Abdullah and her husband tried to have children, but they had no luck.
So when Mohd Ridwan came into their lives in 2004, they felt they were blessed. He was born in Bintan, an Indonesian island about a 45-minute ferry ride away.
Madam Rahimah said they never got around to formally adopting the baby, but to the couple, he was their own. The boy became a Singapore citizen in September 2004.
He was their only child, and they were his parents.
Speaking to The Straits Times in their three-room flat in Bedok on Nov 12, Madam Rahimah, 66, said: “He was my only son. I loved him so much. Which mother doesn’t love her children?”
The teenager loved the couple. He called Madam Rahimah “mummy” and her husband “daddy”.
He was doing well in school, regularly scoring As at ITE College Central. He had dreams of becoming a pilot.
But Ridwan’s life was cut short in July 2021, while playing basketball with friends on a court near Block 18 Bedok South Road.
After dunking a shot,
the basketball backboard structure fell and killed him
. He was only 17.
The fallen basketball structure near Block 18 Bedok South Road on July 27, 2021.
PHOTO: ST FILE
Since the tragedy, Madam Rahimah has found it hard to look at Ridwan’s photos. She is fiercely protective of the gifts he gave her, including a $50 pearl pendant that she received for Mother’s Day in 2021.
Madam Rahimah works night shifts as a pump attendant, while her husband runs a food stall. She spoke to ST alone while her husband rested in his room.
Madam Rahimah said she has been diagnosed with something serious, but she declined to elaborate.
In April 2025, Madam Rahimah and a relative of her husband
settled a civil suit regarding Ridwan’s death
against East Coast Town Council (ECTC) and real estate services firm EM Services.
They had filed claims in July 2024 seeking $150,000 from the two parties. The matter was settled for an undisclosed sum, with the parties signing a non-disclosure agreement.
They were initially not entitled to file claims, as they were only his legal guardians.
Madam Rahimah and her husband had to prove their relationship with their son. Their lawyer, Mr Thirumurthy Ayernaar Pambayan of Murthy & Co, made an application to the State Courts.
The lawyer said: “I convinced the judge that they were in the position of parents because of what they have done all the way, and (Ridwan was) the only child.”
Lawyers K. Anparasan and Grace Tan from WhiteFern acted for ECTC, while Civic Legal represented EM Services.
When Madam Rahimah was told in 2004 that a baby boy born in Bintan might be put up for adoption, she had a sense that he would be their son.
The infant’s biological parents had handed him over to the care of friends of Madam Rahimah’s husband. “I told my husband, ‘We can’t have our own baby… Why don’t we adopt him?’” said Madam Rahimah.
Ridwan’s life was cut short in July 2021 while playing basketball with friends in a court near Block 18 Bedok South Road. After dunking a shot, a basketball backboard structure fell and killed Ridwan. He was only 17.
PHOTO: ST FILE
The couple travelled to Tanjung Pinang, a town in Bintan, and saw the baby for the first time. He was just a month old.
She said: “I felt he was so cute. Bright baby skin, bright eyes. I loved him. I said to him, ‘You’re now my son.’”
His given name means “to be blessed”, which was how they felt.
He was unable to travel right away due to jaundice, so Madam Rahimah patiently waited in Singapore, and paid for his clothes and milk.
Madam Rahimah and her husband brought him to Singapore a few months later, and the boy became a Singapore citizen that same year.
They wanted to formally adopt him, but were unable to do so as Ridwan’s biological mother could not be located.
His biological parents are listed in official documents as “Abdul Rahim Bin Othman” and “Hati”.
Mr Thirumurthy, whom they had known for some years, helped Madam Rahimah and her husband apply for guardianship instead. It allowed them to care for the child.
Ridwan grew up to be a bright and independent boy, said Madam Rahimah.
Madam Rahimah said Ridwan grew up to be a bright boy who won medals for various sports in primary school.
ST PHOTO: ZAIHAN MOHAMED YUSOF
School holidays were always special, as even though they do not have much, they would visit Legoland in Malaysia, where Ridwan loved taking the roller-coaster rides.
He won medals in primary school for basketball and captain’s ball, and was second in his cohort in Bedok View Secondary School’s Secondary 1 Normal (Technical) stream.
From Secondary 2 to Secondary 3, he received various academic achievement awards for mathematics, computer applications, English and music. In 2020, he won the Bedok View Model Student Award.
He wanted to do well for his parents.
When he enrolled in ITE College Central to study aerospace avionics, he maintained a grade-point average of 3.7 and attained As in three modules in the last semester he attended.
Ridwan dreamt of flying.
“I asked him if he wanted to be like his daddy working in a food stall. He said, ‘No. I want to be a pilot,’” said Madam Rahimah.
Every day after school, Ridwan would hit the basketball court near Block 18 Bedok South Road with his friends and return home at about 8pm.
On July 26, 2021, he was late. There had been an accident at the court at about 8.45pm, when a basketball structure fell on the teen.
Madam Rahimah learnt of the accident only when the police turned up at her flat.
Ridwan was rushed to Changi General Hospital, with paramedics performing cardiopulmonary resuscitation on him even in the ambulance. But he did not survive the injuries.
Madam Rahimah said: “For one week… I couldn’t eat. I was very sad when I saw photos of him and his girlfriend.
“I felt very sad and worried about what would happen to us (Madam Rahimah and her husband) when we’re old – no one will take care of us.”
A coroner’s inquiry into Ridwan’s death was opened on Nov 10, 2025.
The court heard that several safety lapses contributed to the tragedy, including the absence of a professional engineer during the installation.
The basketball hoop was also compromised, as investigators found that the breakage happened at a point where there was welding. There was also a lack of reinforcement to keep the structure stable.
The case will be back in court on Nov 27.
Madam Rahimah has not informed Ridwan’s biological parents about his death, as the parents’ original house in Tanjung Pinang has been sold and no one knows their whereabouts.
Madam Rahimah said she often dreams of Ridwan. The dreams usually involve the trips to Legoland.
The couple have removed the bedding from their son’s mattress, and his school medals have been stored in boxes.
Though his belongings have been stored away, she still keeps his room light on.
“So my son’s soul will be there and remain with us,” she said.
