Nurse run over by bus was 'gentle and kind'

Colleagues and friends have paid tribute to a "very gentle and kind" nurse who was run over and killed on her way to work at Changi General Hospital (CGH) yesterday morning.

Ms Lucinia Wong Hang Yee, 30, mother of a young boy, was crossing the road when she was hit by an out-of-service SBS Transit bus as it turned out of Punggol interchange around 6.45am.

A Singapore Civil Defence Force spokesman said it received a call shortly afterwards and its officers pulled her out from underneath the vehicle.

Witnesses said Ms Wong appeared to have been walking to the interchange when she was hit by the right side of the bus and became stuck under its middle section, near Block 288B, Punggol Place, several metres from a pedestrian crossing.

She was taken unconscious to Khoo Teck Puat Hospital at about 7.35am and pronounced dead 40 minutes later after efforts to resuscitate her failed. The driver of the bus, a 30-year-old man, was arrested and has been suspended by SBS Transit pending the outcome of police investigations.

The company said it will offer help to Ms Wong's family.

The senior staff nurse leaves a son, believed to be aged three, and husband John Lai. According to their Facebook pages, the couple married five years ago.

CGH chief nurse Paulin Koh said staff were saddened by Ms Wong's death. "She was a reliable and responsible nurse well- liked by her colleagues and patients. We have conveyed our deepest condolences to the family and are extending assistance to them as needed. We are also providing support to her colleagues during this difficult time."

A nurse who worked with Ms Wong in the same ward said that she was "very gentle and kind" and always ready to help colleagues. "Even when she was busy, if she saw someone needing help she would offer help - that's just the kind of person she was," said the nurse, who did not wish to be named.

Condolences poured in on Ms Wong's Facebook page from people who knew her at St Anthony's Canossian Secondary School, Nanyang Polytechnic, and through work. She started working at CGH in 2006, after studying at Curtin University.

When The Straits Times caught up with Mr Lai last night, he appeared to have just picked his son up from pre-school and was keeping him cheerful. He and a group of friends he was with declined to speak to the media.

Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC MP Janil Puthucheary said: "It's a tragic accident. We are all very shocked and will be reaching out to provide assistance."

goyshiyi@sph.com.sg

joseow@sph.com.sg

This article was first published on May 16, 2015.
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