Poly student dies in accident that almost severes leg

SINGAPORE - He left the shop to deliver what would have been his last pizza order for the night. But Mr Muhammad Amirulhayat Mahadi never got to deliver it.

The 21-year-old student was killed after the Domino's Pizza motorcycle he was riding was hit by a white Mazda RX8 sports car at the intersection of Sembawang Road and Yishun Avenue 5 on Thursday night.

The red motorcycle was completely wrecked, lying crushed below the car, while Mr Amirulhayat's body lay about 10m away.

The storage compartment containing the pizzas was knocked loose and landed on a pedestrian walkway. Blood was splattered over the twisted front of the car and its front windscreen was cracked.
The police and the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) received calls about the accident at about 9.30pm.

Dead at the scene 

When paramedics arrived, they pronounced Mr Amirulhayat dead at the scene.

About an hour later, his family and friends arrived at the scene after being informed of the tragedy.

Overwhelmed with grief on seeing his younger brother's lifeless body, Mr Mahadir Mahadi, 24, kicked the debris from the accident and shouted: "Who is the driver?"

Two police officers and two passers-by rushed forward to restrain him while asking him to control himself.

He struggled in their grasp, demanding that he be allowed to see the Mazda driver, until his friend came forward to console him.

Mr Amirulhayat was a third-year student at Ngee Ann Polytechnic, taking a diploma course in multimedia and animation.

He had taken a part-time job as a delivery rider for Domino's Pizza to earn extra money.

His father, Mr Mahadi Timan, 52, who went to the scene that night, told The New Paper that his son was about to make a legal U-turn in the other direction of Sembawang Road to make his delivery.

It was then that the Mazda collided into the motorbike, causing Mr Amirulhayat to be flung about 10m, he said.

An uncle, Mr Khairudin Timan, told TNP that he was in disbelief when he got to the scene at almost midnight.

"His body was still lying on the road when I got there, and I could see his injuries even though it was quite dark. It was really sad for all of us who were there," he said.

Emotions ran high among his family and friends, with many crying when they saw his body.

Mr Mahadi said that his son's leg was almost severed. He said: "The impact had to be very strong because his leg was very badly injured and his body was flung quite a distance from the bike.

"Plus, the damage of the bike and car was terrible... The car's airbags had inflated as well."

Mr Mahadi said they had to be very careful and delicate in preparing his son's body for the funeral as they did not want to cause more damage to the leg.

The police arrested the Mazda driver for causing death by reckless or dangerous driving.

The driver, who is in his 30s, told Chinese newspaper Lianhe Wanbao that when the accident happened, the traffic light at the intersection was green in his favour.

"When I passed the traffic light, there was a sudden flash of light in front of me. I then heard a loud crash and immediately stopped the car," he said.

He said that it was only then that he realised that his windscreen had cracked and that his car's airbags had been activated.

When he got out of the car, he was shocked to see a body covered with blood lying nearby. If convicted of causing death by reckless or dangerous driving, he could face jail for up to five years.
Police investigations are ongoing.

Man dead after being knocked down by Sentosa bus

SINGAPORE - A Singaporean man in his 50s was killed after he was knocked down by a Sentosa shuttle bus on Wednesday.

The accident occurred at about 5pm at a roundabout in front of Imbiah Station, an express rail station which is a stop away from the Resorts World Singapore integrated resort.

There is an overhead bridge and pedestrian crossing within 100m of the accident scene.

The bus was driven by a man in his 30s who had started work in Sentosa three months ago, said a spokesman for the Sentosa Leisure Group, which operates the shuttle buses.

The bus driver is assisting the police with investigations.

There were no passengers on the bus, which had been dispatched to pick up passengers at Siloso Point.

The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) arrived at the scene after receiving a call at 5.08pm.

The victim was pronounced dead at the scene, said a spokesman. He declined to provide information on the identity of the man.

Eyewitnesses told The Straits Times that staff from the Sentosa Leisure Group helped perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation on the victim, who was believed to be alone, while waiting for the ambulance to arrive.

A pushcart salesgirl at the Imbiah Station, Ms Sophia Chua, 22, said it was a frightening sight as there was a lot of blood.

She said the victim, who was wearing a polo T-shirt and trousers, was already not moving when the ambulance arrived.

"The bus driver looked scared and nervous, and was pacing about the accident scene," she said.

Another eyewitness, cleaner Raju Thanatal, 46, said: "There were so many people crowding around to see what happened."

The Sentosa Leisure Group spokesman said that while there had been "minor accidents of buses hitting the kerb, nothing serious has happened here (before)".

5 injured after cement mixer rams into bus

SINGAPORE - Five people have been sent to the hospital after a cement mixer rammed into the bus they were riding in on Monday afternoon.

Bus service 163 was travelling near Sengkang West Avenue at about 3.45pm when the accident happened.

According to Shin Min Daily, it was raining at the time and the bus was travelling in the direction of Toa Payoh.

A passenger told the Chinese paper that the bus was about to cross a junction when the cement mixer lorry collided with it.

The bus driver lost control of the vehicle, which only came to a halt when it crashed into a row of fences in the middle of Fernvale Road.

There were more than 10 people on board at the time, the paper reported.

A commuter, known only as Madam Yu, told Shin Min that she felt a sudden impact and fell onto the bus floor. Her body then rolled out of the rear doors on the bus.

Madam Yu suffered injuries to her hands and has a bump on her forehead.

Other commuters the paper spoke to said that the bus driver had crossed the junction when the traffic light was green.

As a result, they expressed the belief that the driver of the cement mixer was trying to beat a red light at the time of the accident.

1 injured after SMRT bus rams into bus stop

SINGAPORE - An SMRT bus ferrying about 20 passengers was involved in an accident at Jurong Town Hall on Friday morning, the Shin Min Daily News reported.

The SMRT service 176 was travelling towards Bukit Panjang Interchange at about 6.15am when it mounted a kerb then crashed into the bus stop.

The impact sliced off the roof of the bus stop, The New Paper reported. Shattered glass was also scattered around the accident site.

The front of the bus was also badly damaged.

One passenger was injured and was attended to by paramedics from the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF).

An eyewitness told reporters that he had heard the driver of the bus explaining that he felt a pain in his left hand, causing him to lose control of the wheel.

The resident told the Chinese daily that there would usually be many schoolchildren from a nearby secondary school at the bus stop, but since it was a school holiday, the bus stop was empty.

The cause of the accident is being investigated.

According to an SMRT spokesperson, the driver alerted the SMRT's bus operations control centre.

The police was immediately contacted and a field team was dispatched to assist passengers.

Passengers were transferred to another bus to continue their journey.

It added that the bus driver has been suspended from duty while the investigation is being carried out.

Granny dragged 20m under taxi

In a horrific accident that has left his entire family shaken, Mr Li Wei's grandmother and youngest brother were struck by a taxi on Friday evening.

The 18-year-old Ngee Ann Polytechnic student told The New Paper on Sunday that he received a frantic call from his mother while he was on a bus and on his way home from school.

He said: "I was very shocked. When I rushed to the junction where the accident happened, they had already been taken to the hospital."

Police and Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) were alerted to the accident near Block 265, Toh Guan Road at about 7.50pm. SCDF said both victims were taken conscious to National University Hospital.

Mr Li Wei said his grandmother, Madam Liang Lan Zhen, 65, was still in the intensive care unit as of last weekend.

He said: "She has some injuries to her chest area and needed a respirator to help her breathe. She also might need to have a leg amputated."

His youngest brother, Li Zheng, eight, suffered minor abrasions and has a "bump on the head", he said.

A 63-year-old retiree, who gave her name as Madam Lai, said in Mandarin: "I've told her before, to buy them at the nearby grocery shop, but she'd reply that the items are much cheaper at IMM."

Shin Min Daily News reported that Madam Liang's second grandson, Li Cheng, 10, had been on his bicycle trying to catch up with the pair, who had left earlier to shop for groceries at IMM.

He suddenly spotted his younger brother's slippers on the road. He reached the junction only to see his brother lying injured on the ground.

His grandmother was nowhere to be seen initially, until the young boy spotted her pinned under the taxi.

Dragged 20m

According to the Shin Min report, she had been dragged 20m. Several passers-by came to her aid and managed to heave the taxi off and free her.

She was conscious, and despite her great pain, she was asking about her grandson, said the report.

A witness told the Chinese daily that Li Cheng had burst into tears. He told Li Cheng to stay with his injured brother while awaiting help.

The family is frugal. The mother, Madam Liu Xiao Hui, 42 is a permanent resident here. The father, a Singaporean, is currently in China on business.

Madam Liu works as a clerk at Pasir Panjang Wholesale Centre. Her mother shuttles to and from China to help out with taking care of the children.

The old lady sometimes scavenges cardboard boxes to supplement the family's income, says Madam Lai.

Occasionally, she also takes on vegetable packing duties at the Pasir Panjang Wholesale Centre.

On most of the days when she works at the wholesale centre, she would bring back baskets of vegetables which were not sold.

The kind-hearted Madam Liang would often share vegetables with her neighbours.

Said Madam Lai: "The afternoon before the accident, she came back with chye sim, given to her by her employer. She gave me a big bundle of it too. She'd say that it'd be too much for them to finish so she'd share with us neighbours."

Police have arrested the taxi driver. Investigations are ongoing.

Maid dies after church lift falls on her

SINGAPORE - A Filipino maid died after a church lift fell on her in a freak accident at the Catholic Church of St Michael off Serangoon Road, The Straits Times (ST) reported.

Ms Clarita Abanes, 46, was on the ground floor of the four-storey church helping a 70-year-old woman enter the lift when the accident occurred on the evening of May 16.

She was going to the second floor for mass, her friends and relatives said.

According to Ms Abanes' cousin, who gave her name as Ms Logie, it was likely that Ms Abanes did not notice that the lift had not descended to touch the ground floor when she pulled open the glass doors of the lift.

The lift then fell on both Ms Abanes and the elderly woman and trapped them underneath.

Ms Logie said that the glass door can be manually pulled open only when the lift has arrived at the designated floor, and expressed puzzlement as to why the doors were able to be opened in the first place.

Ms Abanes was seriously injured and died last Thursday after being in a coma. The unnamed elderly woman has been hospitalised but is conscious now.

She was given a send-off in the same church on Monday.

Donations are being collected by foreign worker welfare group Humanitarian Organisation for Migration Economics for her family.

One killed, 4 injured in Rochor Road accident

SINGAPORE: A pre-dawn accident has left one driver dead and four others injured.

The accident at the junction of Rochor Road and Victoria Street involved a taxi, a car and a motorcycle.

Police and SCDF received calls about the accident at about 4.15am.

The driver of the Ferrari and the taxi driver were both trapped in their vehicles and had to be extricated by SCDF personnel.

The driver of the car, in his 30s, was pronounced dead at the scene by paramedics.

Four others sustained injuries and were sent to various hospitals.

The female passenger in the Ferrari, in her 20s, and the taxi driver, in his 40s, sustained head injuries.

The taxi's female passenger, in her 20s, was unconscious, while the motorcyclist, in his 20s, sustained spinal injuries.

Police are appealing for eyewitnesses to call its hotline at 1800-5471818.

Meet the new traffic 'witness'

Watch it - because you're being watched. Not only on cameras set up by police at traffic junctions and on the streets but, increasingly, in cars.

One motorist, sales executive Goh Keng Guan, 40, has installed cameras in his and four of his family's cars.

One in 50 car insurance claims is now accompanied by video evidence, double that of a year ago, said Mr Pan Jing Long, head of general insurance at Aviva Singapore.

Distributors reported that demand for vehicle cameras has been increasing by between 15 and 50 per cent yearly.

In the past week alone, in-car camera videos from two accidents were posted on YouTube, citizen journalism website Stomp and other forums (see below for pictures).

Last Tuesday morning, a cabby's camera captured a 66-year-old woman, Madam Chan Ah Ying, being knocked down and killed by a bus in Sengkang while she was crossing a traffic light junction.

The following night, footage from the aftermath of an accident - a cyclist trapped under a car at Jalan Bukit Merah - was posted on YouTube.

The motorist who posted the second video said that he is always on the lookout for newer technologies that would allow him to capture his surroundings, especially while on the road.

It all started when he posted photos on Stomp of a Nissan Skyline which had knocked down a woman at Beach Road in September 2010.

The 37-year-old motorist, who wanted to be known only as JT, said: "The accident was fatal and I felt for that poor woman.

"If I had video footage, it would perhaps have helped the police to prove that the driver involved was indeed racing with another Audi car that disappeared from the scene."

He then bought an in-car video recorder for S$299 to be his "witness" on the road.

He said: "I hope that I never have to use it but these days, you can never be sure. As safe as you are as a driver, there are a lot more inconsiderate and reckless drivers out there.

"The guilty party should never get away with it while the innocent ones should not be framed."

Another motorist, Mr Alvin Ng, 34, has become a firm "film buff" after an incident on an expressway last April.

The other driver cut in front of Mr Ng's Honda Stream and jammed his brakes.

After the accident, the other motorist tried to claim S$18,000 from Mr Ng's insurance company for medical bills and S$12,000 for repairs to his car. The case has yet to be settled.

Said Mr Ng: "That was a very bad experience for me. It left a sour taste in my mouth."

When the civil servant bought a new Peugeot 407 two weeks later, he immediately installed a camera. "If I had a camera, it would have been very obvious that he was trying to provoke me," he said.

Three insurance companies contacted by The New Paper said that while video evidence is not required in submitting claims, it is useful in assessing liability.

Mr Pui Phusangmook, general manager of the general insurance division of NTUC Income, said the company would ask policyholders if they have such evidence to support their claims.

"The rule of thumb is that the more evidence there is, the more accurate the reports will be," he said.

In-car video cameras
A spokesman for insurance firm Etiqa said it encourages policyholders to install in-car video cameras.

He said: "With the recorded footage, we are not only able to view how accidents occur but also information like the exact location, road and weather condition."

The cameras cost between S$100 and S$400.

Mr Marcus Tan, director of Eureka Plus - which sells the MARC car camera - said technology has vastly improved in the five years since it started selling in-car cameras.

Previous cameras would even be in black and white, or just 320 pixels, as compared to the present high definition models, he said.

Increasing awareness and affordability have also led to the increase in demand for in-car cameras, said Ms Amy Hoi, business development executive at Bio-Cognitive Solutions, which offers the
Recodia dual-channel camera.

She said: "When we first started out more than two years ago, it was s$380 for a single camera car recorder. Now, the prices for our single and dual camera car recorders are from $290 to $399."

Distributors said the cameras are also helpful in vandalism cases.

Mr Gary Chia, product manager of Wow! Gadgets, said customers would install one to four camera units per car - with victims of vandalism installing three or four units to ensure all angles were covered.

In the first three months this year, at least five customers have caught vandals with the company's BlackVue cameras, he claimed.

A motorist, who wanted to be known as Mr Goh, installed a camera last December after his car was scratched.

'It's about being protected'
"It's about being protected. This camera can do a lot of things - if people break in, if people hit and run, if they knock your car while parking, I'm able to get the offender," he said.

Just last month, a car hit Mr Goh's Volkswagen GTI and drove off. Even if Mr Goh had failed to catch up with the driver, he needn't have worried as his in-car camera captured the other car's licence plate number.

Lawyer Gloria James of Gloria James-Civetta & Co said footage from these cameras has been increasingly showing up in court, compared to two years ago.

She said: "During prosecution, if the 'victim' feels that the investigation officer (IO) is not proceeding to charge the 'accused', this footage evidence has to be mentioned and produced to the IO.

"It can be produced at the Magistrate's Complaint Stage too."

On the other hand, if an IO does not take footage evidence into consideration and an accused is charged, he can opt to claim trial and produce this evidence, she said.

Footage evidence can also be used to prosecute aperson.

Ms James cited one client who had a tailgater flashing his high beams and pursuing him for almost 10 minutes.

Her client called the traffic police, produced the video and the tailgater was issued with a warning.

But lawyer Patrick Yeo of KhattarWong cautioned that evidence could cut both ways.

He said: "If a person has a camera and chooses not to present footage to the court, the court will ask him about it, as he's not giving full disclosure."

But even if the camera doesn't capture accidents or vandals, users like Mr Terence Kang are happy.

Said the 41-year-old sales executive who installed a camera in his Toyota Vios three weeks ago: "It reminds me to be a safer driver. Before installation, I didn't care about cutting in front of other cars.

"Knowing the camera is there capturing my car's every move, I'm more careful. Really, it's for the protection of myself and other drivers out there."

Workers from Beach Rd, Shaw Tower evacuated after tremors

Workers from Beach Road and Shaw Tower were evacuated after tremors from the Aceh earthquake were felt on Wednesday afternoon, according to tips sent to AsiaOne.

Photos showed office workers gathering outside 700 Beach Road, a nine-level office building, just before 5pm.

A worker, who declines to be named, told AsiaOne that she saw the hanging lights and beams in her office moving.

She said she felt giddy and needed to sit down. But they were then subsequently told by their office manager to move because they were being evacuated.

According to her, the evacuation lasted less than 15 minutes before they were allowed to return to the building.

Tremors from the aftershocks of a 8.6-magnitude earthquake which hit Indonesia were also felt in other parts of Singapore.

The Straits Times reported that people in Changi, Eunos, Marine Parade and Bedok felt the ground shake for about three minutes around 5pm.

Tremors were also reported in areas such as Whampoa, Woodlands, and Bras Basah.

Workers in the Central Business District also felt slight tremors.

Ms TY Long, 30, who works at Marina Bay Financial Centre told AsiaOne that an announcement was made regarding the tremors but no one was evacuated.

10 minutes later, she saw people being evacuated from Asia Square, which is situated next to her office.

Another worker at One Raffles Place, who also declines to be named, said that she also felt giddy and only realised that it was due to the tremors after her colleague showed her Twitter feeds on the quake.

They were not evacuated.

Writer Ms Anita, 30, told The Straits Times that she felt her bed shaking all of a sudden.

"I was taken by surprise. My bed started rocking and the ground felt wobbly like jelly, but it only lasted for three minutes and everything seemed stable after that," said Ms Anita, who stays in a 21-storey condominium at Marine Parade.

The police and Singapore Civil Defence Force said on Wednesday night that they received a total of 38 calls from the public reporting of tremors.

Some of the areas where the tremors were felt included the CBD, Beach Road, Temasek Boulevard, Selegie, Toa Payoh, Ang Mo Kio, Serangoon North, Punggol, Woodlands, Geylang Bahru, Geylang and Siglap.

The National Evironment Agency released a statement in Twitter, requesting the public to not be alarmed by the tremors.

It also said Singapore is unlikely to be affected by a tsunami.

The Building & Construction Authority (BCA) and the Housing & Development Board (HDB) have also completed their inspections of the 30 buildings in the affected areas and are found to be structurally safe.

The public is urged to report cracks or other structural defects by calling the HDB's Emergency Service Providers' 24-hour hotline at 1800- 325 8888, 1800-6275 5555, or 1800-6354 3333.

Those in private buildings should call the Building & Construction Authority at 6325 7191 or 6325 7393.

4-year-old's hand torn after being pushed down MRT escalator

SINGAPORE - A four-year-old boy was pushed down the escalator at Ang Mo Kio MRT station, causing his left hand to get caught in the escalator and badly injuring it.

The news first broke when Ms Visa Lee, who put up a Facebook post showing a photograph of the boy's hand torn and bloody, called for help sharing the picture to locate witnesses for the accident.

According to reports, Lucas Xie was with his brother and maid going down the escalator when he was shoved from behind.

He lost his footing and landed on his left hand, which subsequently got caught when the steps of the escalator went beneath the floor, The Straits Times reported.

He screamed for help while his hand was stuck for more than 10 minutes, his maid, 29-year-old Tukinem Kasdu said.

The incident happened on Wednesday afternoon at around 4pm. The boy's hand was freed at around 4.20pm. said an SMRT spokesperson.

According to the original Facebook message, the boy - identified as Lee's nephew - required 18 stitches on his left hand, which had a deep gash along his middle finger and another on his index finger. Both fingers were bruised and swollen.

According to ST, the escalator was stopped when a passenger pressed the emergency stop button on the escalator. Another passenger went to alert the station staff.

He was sent to KK Women's & Children's Hospital, which revealed that the accident had also caused a hairline fracture in his middle finger and damaged his blood vessels.

Lee requested her Facebook followers to share the photo so that "witnesses can step forward" to contact them.

"I do not earn anything if you are willing to share. I am hereby begging your help to arrest that horrible person who did this to my little nephew," she said.

She added that the boy is left handed, and the family is worried if he will be able to use his left hand again.

The doctor has said Lucas may lose some mobility in his left hand.

"Imagine the amount of pain inflicted on him, his parents and us," she said.

The family's maid said that a witness to the incident had told her that a man in light blue jeans, red top and a cap had pushed pass Lucas.

The post has since gone viral, and has been posted up on several forums.

Some netizens have suggested that the family of the boy request SMRT to release the surveillance cameras facing the escalators.

Others have questioned the authenticity of the post, and some have even posted comments criticizing the guardian of the child of negligence.

Family of taxi-crash victim could claim up to $140k

The family of Mr Chandra Mogan, 34, who was killed after a taxi ploughed into the Malaysian at Changi Airport's Budget Terminal last Saturday, could receive as much as $140,000 in compensation.

Under the Work Injury Compensation Act, Mr Mogan's family could claim up to that amount in damages against his employer, said the Ministry of Manpower.

Mr Mogan, a cleaning supervisor at the terminal, was reportedly driving a cleaning vehicle at about 6.50am when the incident took place.

His funeral was held in Taman Selasi Jaya, in Johor Baru, yesterday. Mr Mogan was married, with four children.

His employer, Chye Thiam Maintenance, told my paper that it is working with its contracted insurance agency to establish the compensation claim amount.

It is the first time an employee has died on the job since the Singapore company was established about 30 years ago, a company spokesman said.

Members of the public have been stepping up to offer monetary aid to Mr Mogan's family since Sunday, prompting the Changi Airport Group (CAG) to set up a donation collection system yesterday afternoon.

The public can drop off cash donations at a donation box at CAG's corporate reception, located at Level 2 of Terminal 2, said a CAG spokesman.

Unable to walk, but he cares for wife himself

Every day, Mr Ismail Mohamed, 77, bathes his bedridden wife, cleans, cooks and buys the groceries - all from his wheelchair.

The former policeman has been wheelchair-bound for 45 years after an accident left him paralysed from the waist down when he was 32.

But the grandfather of 12 insists on taking care of his wife of 56 years, Sohdiah, by himself.

The 73-year-old has been bedridden with heart disease and liver cancer for the past two years.

Every morning, he wakes up at 5am to change her soiled diapers and clothes, then makes her breakfast.

When she naps, he cleans their one-room flat in Circuit Road. A few times a week, he wheels himself to the wet market across the street to buy groceries.

His five children have offered to hire a maid to help, but he has firmly refused. 'As long as my hands are still strong, I will do it. It's not difficult,' he said.

Family lodges police report after woman falls from bus

The family of an 84-year-old woman has filed a police report after she fell from an SBS Transit bus which allegedly moved off while she was getting down at a bus stop.

Madam Yeo Hock Imm, who underwent a procedure to replace her right hip joint at Tan Tock Seng Hospital, is now looking at three to four weeks of recovery in Ang Mo Kio Community Hospital.

'We want to find out what happened - why the driver did that, and drove away,' claimed her son Joseph Tan, 46, who filed the police report on the day of the accident on March 4.

Mr Tan, a pastor, said the family's concern is with making sure something similar does not happen again, and with accountability more than anything else.

DID DRIVER SCOOT?
'We want to find out what happened - why the driver did that, and drove away.'
Mr Joseph Tan, Madam Yeo's son

Van carrying children flips over in Ang Mo Kio

A passenger van with four children was involved in an accident this morning.

The accident involved the van and a lorry at the junction of Ang Mo Kio Avenue 3 and Ang Mo Kio Avenue 8, near Ang Mo Kio MRT station.

The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) and the police were alerted at 6.42am.

The drivers of both vehicles, as well as the children sustained minor injuries to their hands and legs.

The adults were sent to Khoo Teck Puat Hospital while the children were sent to KK Women's and Children's Hospital.

The police are investigating the accident.

Errant drivers are getting more and more rampant in Singapore, it is good to take care of your protection needs in times of such unforeseen circumstances.