The 20-year-old, who was orphaned at the age of five in Malaysia and had overstayed his visa while tomato picking in and around Wanneroo, drowned fishing for abalone with friends in “atrocious” conditions at Yanchep in November 2012.
A tribute is best expressed in the words Mr Heesters uttered to this newspaper recently about the man he tried in vain to find under the waves:
“It would be nice now to say ‘rest in peace, Beng Keong He. We have found out a bit about you and you are a real person’.
“As a result of his death he’s become a part of all our lives.
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“It’s not all about medals and who went wrong.
“Sometimes it’s about the person who we lost.”