Accident on AYE leaves trail of destruction

SINGAPORE – A bizarre accident — caused by a silver Mercedes travelling at high speed against the flow of traffic — along the Ayer Rajah Expressway (AYE) during morning rush hour on Monday morning (Dec 19) killed a 37-year-old driver and left four others seriously injured.

The trail of destruction also saw four cars, one motorcycle and one private bus wrecked, and the wall of the expressway before the Tuas West Road exit severely damaged. 

The incident, which happened at about 8am, also caused a traffic jam on the expressway for several hours, with one of the lanes closed to traffic before the debris was removed by about 1.30pm. 

The 53-year-old male driver of the Mercedes, identified as Lim Chai Heng was arrested, and was charged on Tuesday (Dec 20) with causing death by reckless or dangerous driving, the police said. If convicted, he could be jailed for a maximum of five years.

TODAY understands that Lim, who is self-employed, was charged at the National University Hospital, where he has been warded for injuries. Lim will be transferred to the Institute of Mental Health in the next few days.

“Preliminary investigations revealed that the suspect was travelling along AYE towards the Tuas Checkpoint where he was believed to have made a U-turn and travelled against the flow of traffic along AYE (Tuas). He then collided into several vehicles,” said the police.

The victim has been identified as Liong Kuo Hwa — also known as Jackie Liong — who was driving a black Toyota Vios.

Mr Liong, a media personality who has been cast in commercials and television shows, was trapped in the driver’s seat and had to be extricated by the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) officers, was on board the car with his wife. He was pronounced dead at the scene. His wife, the arrested driver, a motorcycle rider and his female pillion have been admitted to the National University Hospital for injuries. The Singapore Civil Defence Force said they sustained “face injuries, fractures, hand and arm injuries”.

The accident shocked netizens and led to a flurry of postings on social media, expressing outrage at the accident and sympathies for the casualties.

Video footage of the accident, captured by a dashboard camera, was circulated online. It showed the Mercedes travelling at a high speed against traffic on the right most lane, before swerving to its right and narrowly missing another car, before hitting a motorcycle and causing both its rider and pillion rider to be flung off the bike. The Mercedes then collided with other vehicles, which were not captured on the footage. 

TODAY understands that the Mercedes driver’s son was in the car with him when the accident happened.

Facebook user Zaidy, who witnessed the crash and posted photographs online, said he confronted the Mercedes’ driver’s son and was told the father was suffering from depression. He also told the media that the son apologised for the accident on behalf of his father, and the father was making a scene before police restrained him. “Crazy Mercedes driver going opposite direction ... at very high speed, (luckily) I was on the 3rd lane...but the rest of the (cars were) not so lucky,” he said on Facebook. 

Motorcyclist Law Swan Bu, who rode past the wreckage at about 8.15am, said he saw the driver of the Mercedes looking “dazed” by what had happened. “I saw a couple lying on the ground and a lot of blood on the driver of the black car. I think he was already dead,” said Mr Law, 41, a permanent resident who was on his way home to Johor Bahru. “There was a lot of debris strewn all over the ground when it happened. Several drivers came down to help out,” he added.

Anyone convicted for the offence of Rash Act Causing Death under Section 304A(a) of the Penal Code, Chapter 224, shall be liable to imprisonment for a term which may extend to 5 years, or shall also be liable to fine, or both.