South End Green street tribute to bus death student Mingwei Tan

Published: 18th November, 2010
by JOSIE HINTON

“LIVE fully, have fun, make a difference.” That was the motto of Mingwei Tan, the Cambridge student who died after being hit by a bus in South End Green.

On Monday, residents and traders from close to the spot where the 20-year-old was killed, gathered in Pond Street to pay their respects to the promising Peterhouse College student, who was described by friends as being “full of joy.”

A service was held at 11am to dedicate a hanging flower basket – donated by local florist John Atkins – to Mingwei. Her parents, who live in Singapore, did not attend but approved the Humanist ser­vice. Dedicating the basket, Humanist celebrant Steph Bramwell said: “Mingwei’s death reminds us that life is so very fragile. Mingwei had a motto that she tried to live by: ‘Live fully, have fun, make a difference.’ That sums up her attitude beautifully – live the best life you can, do as much as you can, enjoy doing it, and do what you can to make this world better.”

Mingwei, who was due to start her third year at Cambridge when she was killed in September, was the univer­sity’s women’s squash captain, the undergraduate secretary of the Kelvin Club, the junior common room international representative and president of the karate club. A fund has since been set up at Peterhouse to sponsor students to do charitable work abroad, as Mingwei did.

Hampstead councillor Linda Chung, who organised the service, said: “The accident happened on our patch and we wanted to say how sorry we were to her family and to remember a young woman whose friends described her as talented and enthusiastic, and ‘full of joy’. I hope that this service will give some comfort to her family and others who were affected by her death.”

• A 50-year-old bus driver has had his bail extended for a third time and will return to a police station at the end of January while officers continue their investigation into the death of Mingwei Tan.