KUALA LUMPUR: Veteran singer and "jingle queen" Salamiah Hassan's husband of two months Gerald Hughes died of cancer last Thursday.
The 71-year-old mother of singer-actress Atilia Haron, who has been singing at a few showcases in Malaysia over the last two weeks, quickly boarded a flight to Tasmania, Australia after receiving the sad news from her in-laws.
Hughes' death was confirmed by Salamiah's longtime friend, filmmaker Raja Azmi Raja Sulaiman.
"Kak Anya took a flight to Australia at 11pm last night," said Raja Azmi in a news report yesterday.
"She is devastated as Gerald was a loving and caring husband, who often contacted her during her stay in Kuala Lumpur."
Salamiah and Hughes, 68, who hails from Liverpool, the United Kingdom, were married in Tasmania on Sept 1, and had known each other for 15 years.
In a recent interview, Salamiah revealed that her husband was suffering from cancer.
She said that she would be residing in Australia with Hughes, but would visit Malaysia from time to time.
Salamiah, the mother of Atilia and Raja Ahmad Shah Raja Haron, was previously married to Raja Haron Raja Aziz, who died in July. They were divorced in 1986.