A Malaysian woman is now fighting for her life in Singapore General Hospital after attempting to save her boyfriend and friends from a car crash.
Onlookers took a video of a white BMW crashing into some shophouses at Tanjong Pagar Road. The incident happened at 5:30 am over the weekend. The car caught fire after crashing and it took three water jets and one compressed foam backpack to put it out, according to the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF).
Raybe Oh Siew Huey, 26, suffered severe burns to at least 80% of her body when she tried to open the car door to save those inside. Her boyfriend, Jonathan Long had been the one driving the car when it crashed. According to Ken Teng, a Singaporean, the car was travelling at 220km/hour. He claimed he got the numbers from analysing the video but admitted it wasn’t accurate. However, it was the best he could get.
Raybe is a former Singapore Airlines air stewardess and a getai singer. Aaron Tan, a getai organiser said she stopped singing due to her work commitments but resumed performing after the pandemic started.
He was shocked to hear of the news and says the getai community is praying she recovers, adding, “She did what she did for love and it was a selfless act that not everybody could do. It was a commendable thing.”
The police stated that this incident was the single traffic accident with the highest number of people killed in the past decade. Apparently, those living in the Tanjong Pagar Road area had made noise complaints before about the speeding and racing that took place there.
The area’s MP, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office Indranee Rajah has proposed solutions to slow drivers down, such as traffic cameras and speed bumps. The Traffic Police have also promised to explore other enforcement options and road-calming measures to prevent such an incident from happening again.
The public and well-wishers of the deceased paid their respect at the crash site on Sunday morning. Flowers, candles, clothing, condolences notes and a photograph were placed at the scene. A woman, claiming to be a family member, placed a bouquet of blue flowers and removed the photograph and clothes left there.
According to friends of the deceased, the bodies had to be identified via DNA testing before a wake could be planned. Raybe was still in critical condition in the intensive care unit on Sunday afternoon, according to a Singapore General Hospital spokesman.
Another friend of both Raybe and Jonathan had this to say about the couple: “(They were) young, driven and kind-hearted. Like many youngsters, they do have their playful side but never (meant) to harm anybody. I was so looking forward to them tying the knot but what’s left now is just heartache.”
We hope Raybe recovers soon and we send our condolences to the families who have suffered a great loss.
Sources: Mothership, AsiaOne, The Straits Times
