A NANYANG Polytechnic student has gone on a one-man quest to find out more about an accident that left his good friend dead.

Mr Shaun Ho, 20, is hoping that someone who visits The Straits Times' interactive portal Stomp will be able to shed more light on the accident in Bukit Batok last Friday morning.

He has also put an appeal in the online portal of singaporebikes.com

All he wants are 'the facts', so that he and the family of the late Liu Xia Wei, 21, "can have closure on this unfortunate accident".

In a heartfelt plea to Stomp, Mr Ho said of his friend of two years: "He had just celebrated his 21st birthday in August. He was still so young and had yet to see the world. And now he's just left us like that."

Mr Liu's blue Honda motorcycle was involved in a collision with a car driven by a woman in her mid-40s.
According to the police, the car was making a right turn into Bukit Batok East Avenue 6 from Bukit Batok East Avenue 2 when it collided with Mr Liu's bike.

Mr Liu, who was six months from completing his national service in the Singapore Civil Defence Force, had serious head injuries and was unconscious when he was rushed to the National University Hospital.

He died the next morning from a skull fracture and internal bleeding.

Mr Ho said the force of the crash was so great that Mr Liu was flung on impact. His helmet was smashed.

The pair came to know each other when they were colleagues at the Orchard Cineleisure's Kbox, a karaoke outlet.

Mr Ho was a bartender there, and Mr Liu, a waiter, but they forged a fast and firm friendship through several conversations about motorbikes.

Even after Mr Liu was transferred to another Kbox outlet, they kept in touch by meeting occasionally for breakfast or coffee.

Mr Ho described his friend as a happy-go-lucky person who aspired to be a chef.

As of 11.30 last night, Mr Ho's story in Stomp had drawn 28 comments, mostly expressions of condolences.

Mr Liu, who was the youngest in a family of two boys and a girl, will be laid to rest today.

His sister, requesting for privacy, declined to reveal the funeral details.

Mr Ho does not know if his appeals in these online forums will pay off. But he wants to give it a shot.

He said: "This is the last time I can do something for my friend."