Kum Weng Chung, a 90-year-old weightlifter who won gold medals for Wales at the Commonwealth Games but never spoke of his achievements, was found dead at his home in Cardiff among piles of clothing, books and DVDs, an inquest has heard.
Mr Chung, known to neighbours in the Heath area as 'Dai', was discovered by police at his address on St Isan Road in February last year after a worried neighbour raised concerns about his welfare. The inquest at Pontypridd Coroners' Court on Wednesday heard that he had struggled with hoarding and died of positional asphyxia after falling into a gap between furniture.
A modest sporting legend
In his early life, Mr Chung formed a reputation as a talented featherweight weightlifter in his home country of Malaysia. He competed for Malaysia at the 1958 Commonwealth Games in Wales, where he won silver. He fell in love with Wales during his visit and decided to make Cardiff his home shortly after competing in the 1960 Olympics in Rome.
He went on to win gold for Wales at the 1966 Commonwealth Games, lifting an impressive 337kg. "I'm a Welshman at heart," he told the media ahead of the 1974 Games in Christchurch. By this point, he had become the pin-up boy of the Wales team. Manager Raymond Jones said at the time: "He represents to me everything that is great in sport. Always pleasant - always a great competitor."
Many neighbours said they knew nothing of his sporting achievements until after his death and called him a "modest" and "lovely" man. He worked as a bus driver and in a restaurant, never married, had no children, and lived alone with his dog, Lucy.
Funeral and tributes
On the day of his funeral in March last year, Lucy led the procession to Mr Chung's final resting place as neighbours crowded St Isan Road to pay their respects. Close friends Lisa, Alison and Jackie remembered: "He would ride his bike all the time through the area with his little black dog, and we later found out all these marvellous things about his life. A lot of the neighbours didn't know what he actually did, so we've been WhatsApping around to make people aware of his achievements. But he was a humble person. No fuss. That's what he told people. No fuss. Whenever I stopped to see him, he was always with somebody having a chat, and he was always smiling. That's how I'll remember him. Just a lovely, lovely man."
Inquest findings
In a pen portrait read to the court, his niece Lai Sim Mayes said: "He was quite secretive about his personal life and did not disclose much to his family. Chung's mother passed away and with this he became quite depressed. He gambled to the point that he maxed out his cards and ended up in so much debt that he had to sell his house." Mr Chung continued to live at the property, which was purchased by a friend who allowed him to reside there without paying rent, but his mental health difficulties continued and he developed a problem with hoarding.
Area coroner Patricia Morgan said the medical cause of death was positional asphyxia. She stated: "Mr Chung was known to hoard possessions and as a result his home became cluttered. The position that Mr Chung (was in) when discovered... suggested he had suffered a fall into a gap between the furniture and had been unable to extricate himself." She confirmed there were no suspicious circumstances.
British Weightlifting issued a tribute: "British Weightlifting (BWL) is saddened to learn of the passing of 1966 Commonwealth Games Gold Medallist Chung Kum Weng, aged 90. BWL extends its sincere condolences to the family of Chung Kum Weng, as well as to Weightlifting Wales, Commonwealth Games Wales, National Olympic Committee of Malaysia and the Malaysian Weightlifting Federation."
