Tanjong Pagar car crash: Driver and 4 passengers who died were drunk, sped at 3 times the limit

SINGAPORE — The driver of a BMW car involved in a high-profile fatal crash along Tanjong Pagar Road last year had a blood alcohol level just past the drink-driving limit, with the vehicle hitting close to 150km/h at one point.

These details emerged on Thursday (June 9) during the first day of a coroner’s inquiry into the deaths of Jonathan Long Junwei, 29, and his four passengers on Feb 13, 2021.

It was the highest number of people killed in a single traffic accident in the past decade.

Long was showing off his newly bought two-door BMW M4 to several friends who had gathered to celebrate the first day of Chinese New Year, the coroner’s court heard.

After drinking at an Ang Mo Kio home, they decided to have supper at a Korean restaurant — owned by one of them — along Tanjong Pagar Road around 4am.

Three others went behind the wheel of Long’s car and drove around the area, which had a speed limit of 50km/h, at speeds of possibly up to 181km/h. Long then took over for the last round.

His passengers, who were all his current and former colleagues at Aviva Insurance, were Eugene Yap, 29, Elvin Tan Yong Hao, 28, Teo Qi Xiang, 26, also known as Wilson, and Gary Wong Hong Chieh, 29.

Long was speeding at 148km/h at one point and started to lose control at 110km/h to 148 km/h, before crashing into a shophouse at 37 Tanjong Pagar Road and catching fire at about 5.40am.

All five died of severe burns. Long’s girlfriend, Ms Raybe Oh Siew Huey, 26, also suffered severe burns to her body after trying to save them.

'EXCITED' TO CHECK OUT CAR

On Thursday morning, an investigation officer (IO) from the traffic police, Senior Staff Sergeant Muhammad Firdaus Suleiman, took a packed courtroom through his investigation report.

Several family members of the deceased persons were present. They were represented by Long’s father, Gary Wong’s older sister Michelle, and Yap’s brother.

IO Firdaus told the court that the five who died had been drinking with Ms Oh, Ms Phoo Yilin and Mr Park Se Jin on the evening of Feb 12, 2021.

They then went to their common gathering area, Tanjong Pagar Road, to have supper but all the restaurants were closed.

This was why Mr Park decided to open up his restaurant, the now-defunct Hong Jja Jang eatery, for them to continue drinking. They left around 4am.

Long then wanted to show off his newly bought white BMW to his friends outside the restaurant. They were “excited” and “wanted to see how the car looks like and feels”, IO Firdaus told the court.

Ms Phoo had also told the authorities in a statement that Long had been “very persuasive” in seeing who could drive the fastest.

For the first round, Yap decided to drive with Ms Phoo and Mr Park as his passengers. He was speeding between 75km/h and 88km/h, based on a speed analysis report prepared by the Health Sciences Authority.

Mr Park then took over the wheel for the second round with the other two as his passengers. He drove at 52km/h to 59km/h.

For the third round, Ms Phoo was the driver with only Mr Park in the car with her.

She may have been speeding at between 125km/h and 181km/h when she passed a taxi driver, Mr Loy, who was waiting at a nearby taxi stand in front of Tanjong Pagar Plaza. These figures were ascertained by the Health Sciences Authority using video footage from Mr Loy's dashcam.

The taxi driver, along with another eyewitness who was staying at Tanjong Pagar Plaza, described hearing an extremely loud revving sound. Mr Loy said that he felt a “very strong vibration” before the car went past him “at a very fast speed”.

The route that all the drivers had taken was along Tanjong Pagar Road towards Keppel Road. They then made a U-turn and went back down Tanjong Pagar Road towards Maxwell Road, before making another U-turn at 37 Tanjong Pagar Road and back towards Mr Park’s restaurant at 97 Tanjong Pagar Road.

DRUNK DRIVER AND PASSENGERS

On the fourth and final round, Long got behind the wheel because he wanted to show how the car should be driven, IO Firdaus said. Wong, Tan, Teo and Yap then entered the car as well.

IO Firdaus said that Wong had a seatbelt on, while Teo did not because he was sitting in a non-designated seat. The authorities were unable to determine if the other three had their seatbelts on because the car was severely burned.

Ms Phoo began filming them on her mobile phone. Based on her video footage, Long drove at 148km/h.

When he began losing control of the car, he was speeding at about 110km/h to 148km/h based on closed-circuit television footage from shophouses nearby.

As the car skidded and mounted the kerb, it was travelling between 87km/h and 99km/h. It then crashed into the shophouse at about 115km/h to 141km/h.

All five in the car were either alive or barely alive when it burst into flames, IO Firdaus said.

The officer revealed that Long had 86mg of ethanol per 100ml of blood. The drink-driving limit is 80mg per 100ml.

He also had a 46 per cent saturation level of carboxyhaemoglobin in his blood from smoke inhalation. This could have caused him to lose consciousness and render him unable to extricate himself from the fire, IO Firdaus added.

The four passengers were similarly drunk. Yap had a blood alcohol level of 119mg/100ml; Teo’s was 162mg/100ml; Tan’s was 128mg/100ml; and Wong’s was 111mg/100ml/

Teo suffered injuries to his vertebra and underlying cervical cord that would have affected his ability to breathe and move. Wong, who sat in the rear left passenger seat, also had pelvic injuries.

Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) personnel arrived at the scene around 5.46am. They were unable to approach the car initially because the heat was too intense, and the passenger door was obstructed by the shophouse’s closed roller shutters.

The rescue workers managed to extinguish the fire at 6.08am and extricate the five men. Paramedics then declared all of them dead.

CHARGE PIPES MODIFIED

The BMW was sent for a mechanical inspection. Although an investigator was not able to determine any failure that could have contributed to the crash due to the extent of damage, the car was fitted with non-original charge pipes.

The original factory-fitted pipes were made of silicon and could tear or puncture due to high air pressure flowing through the pipes. Engine heat could also lead to premature deterioration, IO Firdaus said.

The new pipes were made of strong aluminium material with a heat-resistant coating.

When questioned by State Coroner Adam Nakhoda on why the pipes had been changed, IO Firdaus said that he could not comment on whether it was to increase the car’s performance or if it was done deliberately.

The mechanical investigator could not find any other modifications — for example, methanol injections to increase horsepower — that could have caused the car to malfunction.

The airbags also did not deploy because the sensors were on the front and side of the vehicle, IO Firdaus said. The impact of the crash was at the back of the car.

On Thursday afternoon, senior fire investigator Huang Weikang from SCDF testified that the likely fuel source of the fire was petrol from the ruptured fuel tank, or combustible plastics such as the fuel line.

Either or both had come into contact with the exhaust system, which was deformed from the collision and served as the heat source. The flames then rapidly developed and engulfed the car, Major Huang said.

He noted that the aluminium charge pipes likely had "no significant impact" on the fire.

State Coroner Nakhoda adjourned the inquiry to next week, saying that he will consider the evidence so far and determine if more witnesses should be called. The two investigators are the only ones who were lined up.