By Vivien Chan

SHE was nicknamed Wiah and she died young.

And her family will miss the warm kisses Nurul Nabilah Mohamed Zubri, 12, would give them each night before she went to bed.

She was killed after she was flung out of the prime mover her father was driving when it crashed.

Also in the vehicle were her mother and two younger sisters, aged 10 years and 8 months. The pain of losing his eldest daughter was seen clearly on Mr Mohamed Zubri Samat's face as he described what happened on Wednesday.

His first instinct, he said yesterday, was to look around for his family after the crash.

His wife, their 10-year-old daughter and eight-month-old baby girl were still in the prime mover but Wiah was missing.

That was when Mr Mohamed Zubri, 38, felt his heart sink as he realised: "If she's not inside, she must be out there."

He flung open the door of his prime mover and ignoring the pain in his left foot, limped over to his daughter, who was lying on the Pan-Island Expressway.

Everything was a blur.

The next thing he knew, paramedics ushered the family of five into ambulances and ferried them to Changi General Hospital.

The Hari Raya Haji tragedy happened at about 10am. Within an hour of the accident, Wiahhad succumbed to head injuries.

Her parents both fractured their left feet and now need help moving around. Their baby girl suffered some scratches on her head while their other daughter was unhurt.

On Friday, their Bedok North flat was busy as mourning relatives formed a continuous stream of visitors.

Wiah's schoolmates and teachers paid their respects before her body was taken to the cemetery for burial in the afternoon.

But after things quietened down and the formalities over, it will be in the nights that follow when her death will be felt the most.

There will be no more goodnight kisses from Wiah, no more warm family huddles on the bed the family shared.

Her favourite uncle, who wanted to be known only as Mr Adznan, 35, told The New Paper: "She was a wonderful girl. She was the daughter any parent would want to have.

"She was very polite, cheerful and well-behaved."

Family mourning Click on thumbnails below to view more photos. Story continues after photos. (Photos: Tony Ng/AsiaOne, BT, TNP, ST)
Scene of accident

The engineering technician said that his favourite niece was so well-behaved that when she visited him, she would ask for permission whenever she wanted to enter his room.

"I told her, 'why do you need to ask when we are so close?' I treated her like my daughter, I was like her second father," he said, pain evident in his voice.