On April 4, 2007, en route a leisure trip to southern India with his daughter and son-in-law, Sivalingam died from a heart attack in Chennai, India, upon arrival at the Chennai International Airport from Kuala Lumpur.
As the Sivalingam has three faces, this temple is named like that, and the three faces are believed as the Trimurtulu (Lord Brahma, Lord Vishnu, Lord Maheswara).