HK bus accident: Friend shouted warning but it was too late

HK bus accident: Friend shouted warning but it was too late

It was their last night in Hong Kong and all they wanted to do was to watch the famous light display show.

So Singaporean Yeong Kai Ting, 25, and her two friends rushed to Kowloon Bay to catch the Symphony of Lights at about 8pm on Wednesday.

But disaster struck in the form of a horrific road accident.

Ms Yeong was hit by a tour bus and was trapped under it on Salisbury Road, near the closed Sogo department store.

Her left leg was severely injured when the wheel of the bus went over it.

She also fractured her pelvic bone and is now fighting for her life at Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Hong Kong.

Ms Yeong and her two friends are colleagues at Print Classified in Singapore Press Holdings (SPH), where she works as an assistant sales manager.

They arrived in Hong Kong last Saturday for a week-long holiday.

One of Ms Yeong's companions, Ms Esther Chew, 27, told The New Paper over the phone yesterday that they had spent most of Wednesday at Ocean Park, a marine theme park on Hong Kong island.

It was their last night in Hong Kong and they had planned to travel to Macau the next day.

But they had one last item on their must-see list - the Symphony of Lights, which they had twice postponed seeing earlier during the trip.

But as they were walking through Tsim Sha Tsui at about 8pm, they saw that the light display show had started, prompting an excited Ms Yeong to quicken her pace and walk ahead of her friends. She also kept her eyes at the display in the sky as she was crossing a small, dark road, said Ms Chew.

As a result, she did not notice a tour bus that had turned sharply into Salisbury Road.

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COLLIDED

Just as one of her friends, Ms Lee Wei Yi, tried to warn Ms Yeong, the bus collided with her.

"By the time Wei Yi shouted for her to look out, it was too late," Ms Chew said.

After being hit by the left side of the bus, Ms Yeong fell and its front left wheel rolled over her left thigh.

"Wei Yi ran over and started tapping on the bus. Onlookers also asked the bus to stop. Eventually, it stopped," Ms Chew added.

That was when she saw that the flesh on her friend's leg was "broken and torn".

She broke down as she recounted what happened next: "Kai Ting was very brave, she told us that her shoe had fallen off and that it had dropped somewhere.

"She said that had she known that this would happen, she wouldn't have walked so fast. She also said that she was in pain.

"She took her sling bag and rested her head on it, saying her head hurt."

Ms Chew added that passers-by helped to call the police and an ambulance arrived within 10 minutes.

A Hong Kong police spokesman said Ms Yeong was trapped under the bus and had to be rescued by firemen.

She was rushed to Queen Elizabeth Hospital and taken into the operating theatre at about 9pm. She was in there for about 17 hours, coming out only after 2pm the next day, Ms Chew said.

Ms Yeong's father and brother arrived in Hong Kong on a flight from Singapore a few hours later.

Mr Jeremy Yeong, 32, an assistant engineer, told TNP that he was at home with his mother when they learnt about his sister's accident.

"We immediately made arrangements to fly over. Thankfully, a flight had been delayed and we managed to get seats," he said.

While he does not know the full extent of his sister's injuries, doctors have told him that she has a pelvic fracture and a serious leg injury.

"Her condition is stable now but she's still in critical condition," he said.

"She has regained consciousness and could acknowledge our presence. But doctors said she requires more surgery and won't be going back to Singapore any time soon."

Mr Yeong and his father are staying with a friend of Ms Yeong's colleague while in Hong Kong.

SUPPORT

An SPH spokesman said the company has alerted its staff at the Hong Kong office to provide support and assistance to Ms Yeong's family members. They are closely monitoring the situation.

Ms Yeong's supervisor, Ms Rachael Ang, has also flown to Hong Kong to provide assistance to the family.

She told TNP: "Kai Ting is very capable and was just promoted to assistant sales manager this year.

"She has been entrusted with some big accounts and we see the potential in her in becoming a great leader."

She described Ms Yeong as a "pleasant girl" who manages her colleagues and clients very well.

Mr Tan Ooi Boon, head of SPH's Print Classified, said: "We are deeply saddened to hear that Kai Ting is seriously hurt during her holiday in Hong Kong. All of us are praying for her recovery."

S'poreans in accidents overseas

MARCH 2014

Mr Chang Ho Tiong, who was working at the farms in Rochester, about 200km from Melbourne in Australia, was killed after a car ploughed into his four-wheel-drive.

In the same month, Mr Jonathan Lim was in a white sport utility vehicle that hit an elephant in Thailand. He died from his injuries in hospital.

NOVEMBER 2013

Hotel reservations officer Faridah Siraj Nor, 46, flew to South India on Nov 13 to attend the engagement party of a former colleague.

But tragedy struck when she fell off her motorbike, lost consciousness and died later in hospital.

OCTOBER 2013

Mr Ooi Hong Kim, 61, was riding with seven friends from Singapore to Ipoh on the Sungai Koyan route when his bike skidded and crashed. He was killed on the spot.

SEPTEMBER 2013

Ms Norlia Mohamad, 49, died in Malaysia after the car she was in collided with another vehicle.

In the same month, Military Expert 3 Ganeson Thevarajah, an Air Force engineer, died in a highway accident in Southern Queensland, Australia.

APRIL 2013

Ms Rita Marie Gilbert, 42, and her husband, Malaysian Kumar Arunasalam, 40, died in a car crash while heading to Malacca to make preparations for their wedding ceremony.

MARCH 2013

Jockey Brethem Tai, 37, was killed in a car accident in New South Wales, Australia. He was driving alone when his car swerved to avoid an object and hit a pole.

rloh@sph.com.sg

This article was published on April 4 in The New Paper.

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