Woman in coma dies from injuries after collision with PMD rider

SINGAPORE — A 65-year-old woman involved in an accident with a rider of a personal mobility device (PMD) in Bedok has died.

The police confirmed this on Wednesday (Sept 25) and they are now investigating the case as causing death by rash act.

Ong Bee Eng has been in a coma in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of the Changi General Hospital after she was taken unconscious from the scene of the accident last Saturday.

The 20-year-old rider was arrested after colliding with Ong, who was riding a bicycle, near Block 539 Bedok North Street 3 at around 11pm.

The police were initially investigating the case as causing grievous hurt by rash act.

The Straits Times reported that Ong had been on her way home on her bicycle after attending a wake when the accident happened.

She suffered serious brain injury as well as fractures in her ribs and collar bone. 

A photo by Chinese newspaper Shin Min Daily News showed a pool of blood on the pavement next to the cycling path. 

In a Facebook post, a woman who said she was the deceased's niece described her shock when she first saw Ong in the ICU, saying she was “covered in bruises, and blood was flowing excessively out of her ears”.

Ms Ko Chin Fung wrote of her oldest aunt she addressed as dayi in Chinese: “The doctors told our family that she could not hear or see us, and that we have to be prepared for the (worst)… I could no longer recognise her as she laid still on the hospital bed… My fingers turned stiff, and I cried so hard that I couldn't speak. 

“Every single time my family visited the ICU ward, we would cry and hope for a miracle to happen.”

She described her aunt as "one of the most generous" people she knew, who would make pineapple tarts for her friends and relatives every Chinese New Year.

Ms Ko added that while “Ong Bee Eng may be a name that is unfamiliar to the majority of Singapore, but (it means) a lot to the family”.

“When I was young, I grew up with a few of my cousins and dayi will always pamper us with bicycle rides and McDonald's Happy Meals,” she recalled.

Ms Ko appeals to witnesses who saw the accident to reach out to her and the family. They may also call the police hotline on 1800 255 0000 or visit www.police.gov.sg/iwitness.