TikTok video of Malaysian 7-time Asean Para Games champion selling tissue causes outrage

Para-swimmer Koh Lee Peng won seven gold medals and three silver medals at the Asean Para Games from 2001 to 2005

She started selling tissue in 2019 after leaving her office job due to accessibility issues

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Para swimmer Koh Lee Peng won seven gold medals and three silver medals in the Asean Para Games from 2001 to 2005. Photo: Facebook

Published: 8:32pm, 7 Feb 2023Updated: 8:42pm, 7 Feb 2023

A seven-time Asean Para Games champion in Malaysia was spotted selling tissue paper in an online video, prompting social media users to call for measures to support former para-athletes.

Video creator Nicholas Lim Pinn Yang posted a video last Wednesday of his encounter with former swimming para-athlete Koh Lee Peng, who was selling tissues at a luxury shopping district in Kuala Lumpur.

Koh was seen sitting in a wheelchair at a shelterless pavilion in the video, while wearing a 2017 Asean Para Games T-shirt. When Lim approached, she asked him if he wanted a small or big packet of tissue.

Malaysian para swimmer Koh Lee Peng said she had no choice but to become a street vendor after leaving her office job in 2019. Photo: TikTok

While chatting with the content creator, the seven-time gold medallist revealed that her last competition was in 2017 and showed off the five medals that she had donned.

“I have no choice. I have to live. Things are getting expensive. I have to rely on myself. I have bills to pay monthly,” explained Koh in Hokkien.

The former national para swimmer represented Malaysia at the Asean Para Games from 2001 to 2005. During the five years, she clinched seven gold and three silver medals.

Hailing from the Malaysian state of Penang, Koh was also subsequently named Penang’s Best Paralympic Sportswoman in 2015 and Penang’s Female Paralympian of the Year for 2016.

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