The elder Toh later told his family that he had been rescued by a Thai man named Viriya, who let him stay with his family that night.
“As a family, they welcomed my dad, making sure he had food and a change of clothes,” Mr Vincent said.
“I think he’s a hero,” he added.
Holding onto floating debris, Mr Viriya and the elder Toh had swum towards Mr Viriya’s house about 500m from the souvenir store. Mr Viriya supported Mr Ronnie through the currents.
“It was getting dark, he was cold, and without this local Thai guy’s help, I think my father would have been in a very terrible condition,” said Mr Vincent.
Returning to Singapore would have to wait, however.
Mr Ronnie had booked flight tickets to get back home on Tuesday, after they found their car in Hat Yai submerged in water. They ended up missing their flight anyway, since there was no way for them to get to the airport.
