By Desmond Ng

ABOUT 15 minutes after getting into his taxi, the passenger shouted: "Give me all your money!"

Taxi driver Robert Lee, 60, realised it was not going to be another routine trip.

He had begun his shift at midnight. The man had flagged down the taxi in Little India early yesterday morning.

When Mr Lee heard those words, he gripped the steering wheel in terror.

As his mind raced, he reacted instinctively and tried to slam on the brakes. Unfortunately, confused and afraid, he floored the accelerator by mistake.

The taxi sped out of control and slammed into a concrete pillar along Sims Avenue.

Both the driver and the passenger were injured, with the former ending up in hospital and the latter in police custody.

Mr Lee said later that he had blacked out.

When he regained consciousness, he was lying on a hospital bed.

He was in serious condition. His left arm and left thigh were broken. He had just been operated on at Changi General Hospital (CGH).

He sounded quite shaken up by the whole affair, and said he was still in some pain last night.

There was a deep 8-cm cut on his forehead which had been stitched up. Both of his eyes were puffy and looked like someone had punched him hard.

There was dried blood caked on his lips.

His left shoulder, arm and thigh were bandaged.

Mr Lee said the doctor told him that once his condition stabilises, he would be operated on again.

Short trip

He recalled how he had picked up the passenger from Mustafa Centre just after 5 am.

The man, who appeared to be a young China national, told Mr Lee to drive him to Sims Avenue.

Mr Lee didn't suspect anything because the destination was nearby and not a desolate location.

The passenger had acted normally too, although he didn't talk much during the journey.

Said Mr Lee: "But when we were near (the destination), he said in Mandarin 'Give me all your money!'

"I wanted to slam on the brakes. But I panicked and I think I stepped on the accelerator by mistake instead."

He said the passenger did not grab him, nor was he armed.

But Mr Lee said he was so shocked by the sudden demand that he lost control of his taxi and crashed into the concrete pillar.

He couldn't remember anything after that and did not know what had happened to his passenger.

Ms Sylvia Chua, 57, who is self-employed, saw the accident happen. She was on her way to buy breakfast.

Ms Chua, who lives in the area, was driving along Sims Avenue and the taxi was about two car lengths in front of her.

There were few cars on the road at that time.

She said in Mandarin: "I saw the taxi veer to the left suddenly and then it rammed against a pillar. I heard a loud bang."

She said she drove off because she didn't think the driver was hurt.

But Mr Lee was trapped in his seat and had to be extricated by Singapore Civil Defence Force personnel.

The passenger also sustained injuries, the police confirmed. He was treated and discharged from CGH.

The passenger, who is in his 20s, has been arrested for attempted robbery.

Police said investigations are on.

Mr Lee, a former chef, said he started driving a taxi only about two years ago.

He has two daughters who are in their 30s, and two grandsons aged 17 and 18. His wife died a few years ago.

Mr Lee said he had never been robbed before. But this experience, painful and horrific as it was, will not stop him from giving up the job.

He said: "These things do happen, you can't control it. I will still drive (the taxi).

"This (incident) will not stop me."

desmondn@sph.com.sg

This article was first published in The New Paper.