Best Friends Find Out They're Actually Siblings Who Were Adopted By Different Families
The duo were put up for adoption due to financial constraints and astrological beliefs.
By Melissa Alvina - 30 Jan 2024, 05:11 AM
Cover image via Lim Yaohui/The Straits TimesTwo best friends in Singapore discovered that they are actually siblings who were adopted by different families
72-year-old Thangah Koh and 71-year-old Fatimah Mohidin have been best friends since childhood, reported The Straits Times.
According to the report published over the weekend, Thangah said she and Fatima often played together as kids, and their strong resemblance frequently led to them being mistaken for sisters.
She said, "People said we looked alike and asked if we were sisters. I said 'I'm Malay, while Thangah is Indian. How could we be sisters?' "
To her surprise, Thangah, who was adopted by an Indian family, later discovered that she had actually been born to a Chinese couple.
This came to light when she had to register for an identity card. The immigration officer revealed that the names of her parents on her birth certificate were Chinese.
Initially, Thangah was reluctant to confront her parents about her discovery. However, when she was 20, she decided to look for her birth parents, as she needed documents to register for Singapore citizenship.
Upon successfully locating her birth parents' address, Thangah visited them. It was during this encounter that her birth father disclosed that Fatimah, who was adopted by a Malay-Muslim family, was her biological sister.
Image via Lim Yaohui/The Straits Times
The duo were put up for adoption due to financial constraints and astrological beliefs
An astrologer's advice led Thangah's birth parents to give her away to a non-Chinese family to avert potential ill fortune for her father, reported the Singaporean daily.
A year later, Fatimah also faced a similar fate as the astrologer suggested she might bring ill fortune to her mother.
Thangah and Fatimah's birth parents also grappled with financial constraints as they raised a family of eight children, with the father working as a mechanic.
The duo was then adopted by an Indian couple who ran a canteen stall in a school. However, feeling they could not manage with two children, they later entrusted Fatimah to a Malay couple.
Image via Lim Yaohui/The Straits Times
Since their reunion, Thangah and Fatimah celebrate festivals with their birth family
"My biological siblings are all loving and respectful, and our bond got closer as we got older. My brothers call me their Indian sister, and Fatimah their Malay sister," The Straits Times quoted Thangah as saying.
Thangah also added that she and Fatimah annually join the reunion dinner with their birth family during Chinese New Year.
Image via Lim Yaohui/The Straits Times
Read the full story here.
