'Like a second mother': Friends and patients mourn doctor killed in murder-suicide

Mourning a doctor and - for many - a good friend Joanne Sun-Wah Tse worked closely with patients in her community, including new immigrants who chose her as their trusted family physician.

WARNING: This article contains details that may be disturbing to some readers.

Patients of a Calgary doctor killed in an apparent murder-suicide are expressing their horror and grief upon learning of her death.

Dr. Joanne Sun-Wah Tse, 69, operated a medical clinic along Bow Trail S.W.

One of her patients was Judy Chan, who says the pair first met nearly 25 years ago.

Chan says Tse took her under her wing and taught her about the health-care industry, showing her what it was like to work in a medical office as she decided what career to focus on.

"In a way, she was like a second mother to me, because I was spending so much time and doing my schoolwork, and then right after school I would be coming here," said Chan.

"My mom and her are about the same age, and they're both from Hong Kong."

Chan worked with Tse for eight years. She says both she and her mother were patients of Tse.

Chan had a appointment with Tse last Friday, and her mother had an appointment to see her on Monday, before they both received a call telling them they'd have to find a new doctor.

"I almost think she's just going to walk up right now and say, 'Oh, you think a man could take me down? No,'" said Chan.

Tse was killed on Saturday, dying from blunt-force trauma after falling from a high-rise apartment complex in the community of Spruce Cliff.

Police say her hands and feet were bound, and that she was either pushed or thrown from a balcony at least 18-storeys high.

Investigators believe 61-year-old De Lin Tang was the man who killed Tse.

As first responders attended the scene, he then jumped from the balcony, ultimately falling to his own death.

'I JUST WANTED TO CRY'

Eileen Neu says she had been a patient of Tse’s for about two years, and was devastated to learn about her death.

"I just want to cry," Neu said. "(She was) not just a doctor, but also a friend. She was a very good doctor, and it's hard to find a family doctor like her.

"She has patience, she has passion for her job, I can tell she loved her job."

Several patients stopped by Tse’s office on Tuesday to drop off flowers and cards as a way of remembering her, including Michael Lai and his wife, who moved to Calgary from Hong Kong three years ago.

Lai said they had been her patients for more than a year, and it was Tse who noticed a lump in his stomach, ultimately saving his life.

"If (she) couldn’t find it earlier, it will become cancer," he said.

As the deaths took place in a public area, Calgary police are encouraging witnesses to contact the Victim Assistance Support Team (VAST), a free service offered to all victims of crime or tragedy.

VAST can be reached at 403-428-8398 or toll-free at 1-888-327-7828.