By Chong Shin Yen

A FAMILY outing to Pulau Ubin on Sunday will be Mr Tiew Sin Keng's last.

The 44-year-old technician has also sworn never to ride a bicycle again. He said it will bring back memories that are too painful.

Mr Tiew's wife, Madam Lee Yan Inn, 41, died after she was flung off her bicycle at Pulau Ubin.

The housewife was on a tandem bicycle with her teenage daughter when she lost control of the bike while going down a steep slope.

Mr Tiew could only watch, helpless and horrified, as the tragedy unfolded before him on Sunday afternoon.

Madam Lee hit her head and lost consciousness. She was rushed to hospital, but died 11 hours later.

Mr Tiew, 44, who was riding behind them at the time, said the accident had happened in a flash.

He said: 'I heard my wife screaming. Before I could do anything, I saw my wife and daughter flying off the bicycle and landing in the middle of the road.'

Mr Tiew quickly got off his bicycle and went to help his 15-year-old daughter, who was crying in pain.

By the time he went over to his wife, she was unconscious.

'Her eyes were closed but her hands were trembling. I kept calling out to her but she didn't respond,' said Mr Tiew.

'When I tried to carry her, I saw that she was bleeding profusely from the back of her head.

'She was also bleeding from her nose and her breathing was weak.'

He called the police for help.

Madam Lee was ferried back to the mainland and taken to Changi General Hospital in an ambulance that was waiting at Changi Jetty.

He added: 'None of us knew how to perform CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) on her. By the time she was in the ambulance, she had stopped breathing,' said Mr Tiew.

Paramedics managed to revive Madam Lee, but she died in hospital just after midnight yesterday.

The cause of death were a fractured skull and brain contusion.

Their daughter suffered bruises on her right arm and received outpatient treatment.

Mr Tiew said the family - including his three children and mother-in-law - had taken a bumboat to Pulau Ubin at about 11am on Sunday for a cycling trip.

It was the second time the family had gone cycling in Pulau Ubin.

Mr Tiew said his mother-in-law, who is in her 60s, was cycling at the front of the group.

His wife and daughter were next.

Mr Tiew was behind them on another tandem bicycle with his 9-year-old son.

His 12-year-old son was riding behind them.

They had cycled for more than an hour and were on their way back to the bicycle rental kiosk when the accident happened.

Steep slope

Mr Tiew said they were navigating a steep slope along Jalan Wat Siam when Madam Lee lost control.

Speaking to The New Paper at his wife's wake at Jurong West yesterday, Mr Tiew said: 'She was going downhill very fast and, from her scream, she sounded very scared.

'Maybe there was a hump at the bottom of the slope or maybe she applied the brakes too suddenly, causing both of them to be flung off.'

Mr Tiew blames himself for the accident.

It had been his idea for the family to go cycling, because his mother-in-law was visiting from Malacca.

'My wife had wanted to go to Plaza Singapura to shop and buy some DVDs for her mother,' he said.

'But I thought it would be fun if the family went cycling instead. I told my wife we could go to Plaza Singapura after that.'

In tears, he added: 'If only I had listened to her. I really regret suggesting that we go cycling.'

The couple had been married for 16years. Madam Lee, a Singapore permanent resident, was originally from Malacca.

Mr Tiew said their daughter was distraught over Madam Lee's death.

At the wake, the Secondary 3 student sobbed quietly as she knelt next to her mother's coffin, burning paper offerings.

Mr Tiew said the teenager, who had been very close to her mother, has been crying a lot and keeping to herself since the accident.

'She told me that she's still afraid (at seeing how Madam Lee died) and will never ride a bicycle again,' said Mr Tiew.

'She is still traumatised by the accident and it will be hard for her to forget.

'And like my daughter, I don't think I will ever visit the island again. I won't ride a bicycle again either.'

Mr Tiew recalled having read newspaper reports about accidents at the same steep slope.

He said: 'The slope was right after a sharp bend and there wasn't enough time for cyclists who are unfamiliar with the road to react.

'I hope the authorities will put up more warning signs to alert cyclists to prevent further accidents.

'It would also help if there were better medical facilities on the island for such emergencies.'

This article was first published in The New Paper on September 9, 2008.