11-year-old daughter of Sabah crash victim 'wants to hug mum', says aunt

The 11-year-old daughter of a woman who died after a tour bus ferrying passengers from Singapore crashed and overturned in Semporna, Sabah could not speak for some time after the accident and pined for her mother's embrace, the girl's aunt shared.

The minibus that they were travelling in was involved in an accident with a lorry on March 11 at about 4pm, The Star reported.

A 60-year-old Singaporean man identified as Lee Siong Huat and 40-year-old Vietnamese national Ngo Trinh Buu Dung died on the spot.

The bus driver and five other passengers — including Ngo's 11-year-old daughter who suffered light injuries — were sent to the hospital, according to Shin Min Daily News.

Ngo's remains arrived in Singapore on Friday (March 15) and a funeral was held in Bukit Batok.

The girl's aunt told reporters from Shin Min Daily News at the wake that her niece did not speak for some time following the accident due to the trauma and could only cry during video calls with family. She added that the girl's emotions appear to have calmed down since arriving home.

While on the journey back to Singapore, Liu revealed that the girl would often look at her mother's photos in her phone and kiss her image. She'd also say that she "wanted to hug" her mother, said Liu of the heartbreaking scene.

"My sis-in-law loved her daughter a lot and always brought the family out for holidays. As my sis-in-law worked from home, she spent a lot of time with the girl; they would always hug each other and had a good relationship," Liu shared.

According to Shin Min Daily News, Ngo's daughter, who was present at the wake, would frequently be seen at the altar gazing at her mum's photo with her hands clasped.

On holiday with friends

Liu told the Chinese evening daily that her younger brother's family were in Sabah for a holiday along with six other friends of her brother, who like him, all work as private-hire drivers.

"They'd just arrived by plane and the group split into two vehicles to the head to the hotel," said Liu describing the sequence of events.

The first group of friends heard about the accident shortly after they arrived at the hotel and hurriedly rushed to the scene.

Liu added that her brother is still recovering from his injuries in Malaysia and that the girl is currently being cared for by her maternal grandmother in Singapore.

But as the latter is currently on a long-term visit pass, Liu and her younger sister plan to help care for their niece after she returns to Vietnam.

Liu also revealed that her brother had only regained consciousness the day after the accident. Doctors had to perform a five hour-long surgery on his arm and he's currently in stable condition.

She told Shin Min that her brother had wanted to fly back to Singapore to attend his wife's funeral, but the family is afraid that the journey back would worsen his injuries.

The family is currently arranging for an air ambulance to bring him back home.

ALSO READ: 'I regret booking an overnight ride': Singaporeans injured after tour bus skids off Malaysia highway

candicecai@asiaone.com