When researcher Joanna Phua drove along the Pan-Island Expressway in December 2007, she did not expect it to be the start of her nightmare.

It was drizzling and she was driving at 70kmh on the extreme right lane when the taxi in front of her suddenly jammed its brakes.

She could not brake in time and her Nissan Latio hit its rear. Then, a Malaysian-registered van slammed into her car's rear.

She found out that hers was the fourth car in a five-car pile-up. She suffered only whiplash but her two-year-old vehicle was completely wrecked.

"I was so shocked, I didn't even get out of the car," said Ms Phua, 24.

Eventually, she called her regular workshop, requesting a tow truck. But when the people there heard that it was a Malaysian van that hit her, they refused the job.

"They were worried they couldn't claim the insurance from the Malaysian side," she said. "So they didn't even want to repair my car."

At a loss, she agreed to let a workshop representative, who had approached her after witnessing the accident, tow her car to a workshop in Woodlands.

Although the workshop promised to provide her with a replacement car, this did not happen. It also had problems verifying that the Malaysian van had an insurer.

Reluctant to leave her car in the workshop while awaiting news from the Malaysian side, Ms Phua took it to the official agent for repairs. She had to claim $11,000 from her own insurance.

"The next year, my premium nearly tripled from $600 to $1,600 annually," she said.

On top of that, she has also received two letters from lawyers representing the owner of the first car in the chain collision, seeking $6,197 in compensation from her.

"Usually they claim from the last car, but because the last one is Malaysian, I think he decided to come after me," she said. "For months, I was so worried and didn't dare to drive."

She has left the case to her insurer and the case is still pending. Now, Ms Phua avoids driving in jams as far as possible and always keeps a safe distance from cars in front of hers.

"Getting into a pile-up is a really troublesome and expensive affair," she said ruefully.

Mavis Toh

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