Singaporean dead in motorcycle crash in Selangor; husband of 16 years injured

KUALA LUMPUR - A Singaporean woman died in a road accident in Selangor on Wednesday evening (Oct 31), after the superbike on which she was riding pillion swerved out of control in rainy weather, Malaysian police said.

Pauline Leong, 42, was flung on to the highway, and is believed to have died on the spot from severe head injuries.

The accident occurred at about 5.15pm near Tanjung Malim, at the Lembah Beringin junction of the North-South Expressway. 

The motorcycle, a BMW GS R1200, was being driven by her husband, 43-year-old Admen Lim Beng Yaw, who is also Singaporean. 

According to Hulu Selangor traffic police, the couple were on their way from Singapore to Thailand when their bike swerved out of control and hit the road divider in the middle of the highway. 

Mr Lim suffered a broken leg and is being warded at Slim River Hospital.

In an interview with The New Paper that was published in 2016, Mr Lim was a taxi driver and was said to be an avid biker who would do charity work with fellow biker friends every few months or so.

He and his friends would ride to destinations around the region and make stops at old folks' homes, schools for special needs children and more, for visits and to donate. At the time, they had just travelled to Hua Hin in Thailand, where he rode 1,800km in four days with Ms Leong as his pillion.

The two met each other around 16 years ago due to their shared interest in riding. At the time, Mr Lim had been at a coffee shop in Malaysia which was a "weekend hot spot" for bikers, when he met Ms Leong, who was riding pillion with her friend.

They married three months later after Ms Leong proposed to Mr Lim.

He recounted to The New Paper in 2016: "We were talking and I asked her, 'Do you think I'm Mr Right? Do you think you will marry me?' "And she said, 'I actually like you and will stay for you'. She then said, 'Why don't I propose to you?'

"I thought it was a joke but that very week she said she had already registered our names at the Registry of Marriages. She then went to buy the engagement ring."

Mr Lim said of Ms Leong at the time: "She supports me (in every way)... so I really treasure her."

This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission required for reproduction.