SINGAPORE — When Yep Lay Choo drove her silver Mercedes-Benz out of the basement carpark of Valley Point Shopping Centre on Jan 24 this year, she did not appear to have applied the brakes until her car crashed through a railing and into Alexandra Canal.

Closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage showed that the car’s brake lights did not come on until she hit the railing, and the car covered the 14.6m between the car park exit and the railing in just three seconds. 

These details were revealed on Monday (July 4) at the Coroner’s Inquiry into the deaths of Yep, 51, and her daughter Kimberly Poon, 22.

While State Coroner Marvin’s findings will only be delivered next week, investigation officer Jegadeeswaran, who took the stand on Monday, said the accident was “due to human error”, and the police do not suspect foul play.

There were no findings suggesting abnormalities with the vehicle or that it was badly maintained, said Inspector Jegadeeswaran, who goes by one name. 

The CCTV footage collected — some of which was played during the hearing — also show that the car had exited from the carpark at “fast speed”, although there were no speed cameras nearby that captured the exact speed. 

Said Mr Jegadeeswaran: “The vehicle shot straight ahead instead of turning right onto the road.” 

The investigation report into the accident also stated that Yep could be been distracted while driving out of the car park. 

Asked about this during the hearing on Monday, Mr Jegadeeswaran said a friend of Kimberly, Ms Tiffany Tan, was texting her on Whatsapp on that night. According to Ms Tan, her last message was read by Kimberly at 9pm, around the time the accident took place. This might have distracted Yep, he said.

Yep and Kimberly had gone shopping at Valley Point Shopping Centre, where they also had dinner. Shortly after exiting from the carpark, the car plunged into the canal. 

When the car was found, their bodies were floating in the car, although the seatbelts had been in use. The airbags at both the driver and passenger seat had also been activated.

Kimberly’s body was the first to be extracted by the Disaster Assistance and Rescue Team that was searching for the bodies, followed by that of her mother. 

An autopsy found that they died from drowning, and Mr Jegadeeswaran said the pair sustained rib fractures during the collision. Toxicology reports indicated that no alcohol and drugs were detected on the both of them.

Yep’s husband, Mr Robin Poon, had told investigators that his wife had not been under any stress, and had not been behaving in an unusual manner. Neither was she facing financial issues, nor did she have any enemies. 

While Yep had a benign brain tumour and underwent surgery and radiosurgery in 2013, there was no evidence of any impending stroke or seizure related to the tumour and the procedures she had undergone. 

She had regular follow-ups at the National University Hospital, and her last medical check-up and MRI scan were in June last year. 

Yep was also said to be a “good driver”, according to Mr Poon and her brother, Mr Yep Tai Seng. Mr Yep said the car was well-maintained and serviced regularly, and no “special functions” were added to the car. 

The court also heard that Yep had a record of speeding incidents, between 1992 and 2012.

The State Coroner’s findings are expected to be delivered on July 11. Speaking to the media after the hearing yesterday, Mr Poon said: “I guess I have to accept it. There’s nothing I can do. I do miss them but life has to move on, right?” 

Asked about Yep’s speeding incidents, Mr Poon said those were committed during her “younger days”.