A year when the roads claimed many lives

On Christmas Eve, an express coach crashed into a ravine near Muar, Johor, killing 14 people, including three Singaporeans and a Singapore permanent resident. The New Paper looks back at other serious road accidents this year:

JAN 24

Madam Yep Lay Choo, 51, and her daughter, Kimberly Poon Hui Yin, 22, died after their Mercedes E250 plunged into the Alexandra Canal as they drove out of the Valley Point Shopping Centre at about 9pm.

State Coroner Marvin Bay later said in an inquiry that the case underscored the need for motorists to navigate less familiar carparks at a cautious speed.

Read also: 2 bodies retrieved from Alexandra Canal after car plunges into it

 

FEB 20

An elderly couple were picking cardboard at Collyer Quay at about 6.50am when a BMW ploughed into their lorry.

Madam Tan Powi Kim, 61, was killed while her husband, Mr Cheng Kiat Yan, 68, suffered a fractured knee after he fell off the lorry.

In the first half of this year, there were 122 accidents - 12 fatal - involving elderly victims, up from 104 in the same period last year with 10 fatalities.

Read also: Elderly woman killed in Collyer Quay accident

 

MAY 21

Factory supervisor Lau Lee Kiau, 46, was on her way to work on her boyfriend's motorcycle when they got involved in an accident with a car and a taxi at the junction of Ang Mo Kio Avenue 5 and Ang Mo Kio Industrial Park 2.

She died and police arrested a 17-year-old underage driver for allegedly causing death by a rash act.

The age for getting a driving licence here is 18.

On Tuesday, a police spokesman said they were still investigating the case.

There were 853 people caught driving without a licence between January and September this year, up from 748 detected in the same period last year.

Read also: 'We never got to say goodbye'

 

AUG 31

A tour bus carrying 12 Singaporean passengers overturned on the Karak highway in Malaysia on its way back from Genting Highlands.

Accountant Lim Sia Thian, 62, suffered traumatic brain injuries and died.

The bus driver, a Malaysian, and eight other Singaporeans were injured, some seriously.

Read also: 9 Singaporeans hurt after tour bus overturns in Malaysia

 

OCT 27

Three e-bikers were riding their bikes near the junction of Pandan Crescent along West Coast Highway at 11.55pm when they collided with a trailer. Mr Ong Zi Quan, 18, and Mr Ang Yee Fong, 25., died while Marcus Loke Teck Soon, 17, escaped with an injured leg and several scratches.

The 34-year-old trailer driver was arrested by the police for negligently causing death.

Read also: 2 killed, 1 injured after collision between e-bikers and truck at West Coast Highway

 

NOV 3

Two foreign workers died after they were run over by a reversing tipper truck at the Thomson-East Coast Line Mandai Depot construction site at about 1.15pm.

The Bangladeshi nationals had been napping on the ground.

The accident prompted safety experts and migrant rights' groups to call for proper rest areas for workers, reported The Straits Times.

Read also: 2 workers taking a nap run over by truck at Mandai worksite; driver arrested

 

DEC 19

At about 8am, a Mercedes-Benz car travelling against the flow of traffic at high speed on the Ayer Rajah Expressway (AYE) rammed head-on into another car, killing its driver, Mr Jackie Liong Kuo Hwa, 37.

The Mercedes-Benz also collided into a motorcycle, sending its rider and pillion rider flying in the air.

Businessman Lim Chai Heng, 53, was later charged with allegedly causing death by reckless or dangerous driving.

Read also: 1 dead, 3 injured after car goes against flow of traffic on AYE

rloh@sph.com.sg

This article was first published on Dec 29, 2016.
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