Victims’ families together in grief

Solidarity in tragedy.

The parents of Mr Amron Ayoub, 23, showed up at the mortuary to support Mr Song Jihwan,the brother of their son's Korean girlfriend.

They comforted one another to stay strong, a friend told The New Paper on Sunday.

The friend, who asked not to be named, said another mutual friend had also gone there to console Mr Song, a Chinabased golfer, who was accompanied by his younger brother and a Chinese colleague who had flown into Singapore.

He said: "Mr Song wasn't overly emotional, but he was clearly trying to remain strong."

Mr Amron was buried on Friday afternoon, hours after the accident.

Shin Min Daily News reported that Mr Song had gone to the Choa Chu Kang Muslim Cemetery with some Korean friends.

After the burial ceremony, several of Mr Amron's relatives offered hugs of consolation to Mr Song.

A male relative, 55, told the Chinese evening daily: "I want him to know that he is not alone, and that we'd always be by his side to help him."

Mr Amron, his girlfriend Jamie Song Jisoo, 24, her parents and Mr Song were on their way to Changi Airport on Friday morning. The Song family was due to catch a flight to Hong Kong for a holiday.

Their black Toyota Wish multi-purpose vehicle (MPV) had a flat tyre and Mr Amron, a trainee pilot, had parked it at a chevron near the Yio Chu Kang exit on the Central Expressway to fix the problem.

The four who died were believed to have been standing near the back of the car with its rear door open when a black Honda Stream MPV slammed into them.

Miss Song and her parents were killed instantly while Mr Amron died of multiple injuries at the Khoo Teck Puat Hospital.

Mr Song, 30, told Shin Min Daily News that he had managed to escape unscathed as he was standing near the driver's door when the accident happened.

The friend said that Mr Amron's father has also been putting on a brave front for his family.

He added: "Everyone is devastated and Amron's mother and two sisters especially have been almost inconsolable."

Mr Amron and Miss Song had been dating for close to two years. Friends said that the couple could hardly be kept apart.

The couple's friends also told The New Paper earlier that Mr Amron had even learnt to speak Korean, which "impressed her friends".

Last year, he visited Miss Song's family in South Korea, where she introduced him to her friends.

A 34-year-old man has been arrested for dangerous driving causing death, and his driving licence has been suspended.

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