Parents break down when they see her NDP photo

http://tnp.sg/news/story/0,4136,209826,00.html?

Parents break down when they see her NDP photo
NDP girl,12, in critical condition after accident near school
By Andre Yeo

August 08, 2009


DEVOTED FRIENDS: Jie Min's classmates and dance group members folded 1,000 paper cranes after they heard of her accident.

SHE was looking forward to taking part in her first National Day Parade.

Along with her schoolmates, the Secondary One student is due to be part of a parade formation.

But on Tuesday, just five days before she was scheduled to take the stage in front of the nation, 12-year-old Tng Jie Min was hit by a taxi, after a practice at school for the parade.

It is believed that she was with a schoolmate, who was unhurt.

The Mayflower Secondary School student now lies heavily sedated at the KK Women's and Children's Hospital (KKH), in the intensive care unit, after suffering head injuries.


TNP PICTURES: GAVIN FOO

A police spokesman said the accident happened near Jie Min's school at the junction of Ang Mo Kio Avenue 4 and Street 11.

She was conscious when taken to the hospital.

The police are now investigating the case.

Jie Min's parents, Mr William Tng, 51, and Madam May Leong, 49, have been keeping vigil at KKH since the accident.

Speaking to The New Paper yesterday at the hospital, they said Jie Min was looking forward to the NDP as she had enjoyed the Asian Youth Games' (AYG) opening ceremony, which her school was also involved in.

She was one of 100 Mayflower students who took part in a dance item.

Mr Tng, a technical support officer, said Jie Min loved the atmosphere at the AYG and the chance to make new friends.

She was hoping for more of the same at the NDP.

Mr Tng and his wife have two other children - a son, 19 and another girl, 16.

He said he got the call at 6.30pm from his other daughter who told him frantically that Jie Min had been hit by a cab.

Mr Tng said he doesn't know much about the accident except that it happened after her dance practice.

All they want now is for their girl to get well. Jie Min suffered head injuries, and underwent a 90-minute operation on Tuesday to relieve the pressure in her brain.

Said Madam Leong: 'Whether she wakes up or not, nobody knows. After five days, the doctors will stop the sedation to encourage her to regain consciousness.'

Mr Tng added: 'The doctors are encouraging us to talk to her and stroke her. We have been telling her we love her, her friends miss her and are looking forward to visiting her, and the doctors care about her.'

While they were at the hospital, the family got another surprise.

A picture of Jie Min was published in Wednesday's edition of Chinese daily Lianhe Zaobao, but it had nothing to do with her accident.

It was a picture taken during rehearsals for NDP, and featured Jie Min in sharp focus and centrestage, taking the pledge.

Said Madam Leong: 'When I saw her picture, I got emotional and cried. I keep talking to her to tell her to wake up to look at the picture.'

Throughout the interview, though deeply worried for his daughter, Mr Tng struggled to hold back his emotions.

But when asked what he thought when he first saw the photograph, he said: 'If I had seen the picture under normal circumstances...'

He trailed off.

Then, without warning, his head suddenly slumped between his arms, tears flowing freely.

For several long seconds, his grief took over, the picture of his little girl on the table in front of him.

When he had composed himself, he said: 'When she is still around, before the accident, we would have been very proud and happy for her.

'Now, with her in ICU, we don't know the outcome, the happiness and pride have been overshadowed by sadness.'

Madam Leong added: 'Who can return me a lovely child like her? I am not sure if she can recover like before.'

Paper cranes

Jie Min's schoolmates, meanwhile, still have her very much in their thoughts.

According to Mr Tng, teachers from the school have been calling them to offer help and support.

After they were told about the accident, 40 classmates and about 100 of her dance group members folded 1,000 paper cranes for her, hoping for her swift recovery.

Mayflower principal, Mrs Doris Lim, a mother of four, said: 'As a parent, I can understand what her parents are going through.'

She is confident Jie Min will recover.

Said Mrs Lim: 'Her teachers describe her as bubbly, very enthusiastic and full of energy. A very pleasant and good girl.

'One teacher said she is a very strong girl, the kind who will not give up. That can only help her in her recovery.'

It is indeed a heartbreaking news.

However one question floats in my mind, it is usually the ordinary peasants who perish for the state while the lackeys and minions precious children are usually kept out of harms' way.

In the Hendon Dunker case, the poor peasant soldier who died from the abuses heaped by Mindef baboons had a humble background.

The recent MTO serf, despite been posted to a safe vocation was run over by another poorly trained serf and silly procedures.

The other serfs who died in overseas training in Taiwan are of peasant stock.

Despite the claims of the small number of white horses, one cannot feel that various govt agencies has often went overboard to ensure the safety of the VIPs princelings. Those princelings are often given staff positions that do not require them to bring their arses to the field.

The death of the poor peasant gal only serves as a warning for peasants who toil for the regime.

http://tnp.sg/news/story/0,4136,209909,00.html?

NDP organisers visit parade girl
Her family touched by well wishes from friends and strangers
By Andre Yeo

August 09, 2009




WHEN Singapore celebrates her 44th birthday tomorrow, one of her children will be absent from the party.

Absent, but not forgotten.

Tng Jie Min lies heavily sedated in an intensive care unit of a hospital after sustaining head injuries in a traffic accident earlier this week.


Though she was just one of several thousand participants, parade organisers have not forgotten the effort she had put into the rehearsals.

They visited her in hospital with a message for her and her parents: Our thoughts are with you.

The New Paper reported yesterday how Jie Min, a Secondary 1 student from Mayflower Secondary, was hit by a taxi on Tuesday.

Jie Min, who will celebrate her 13th birthday next month, was on her way home after finishing rehearsals for the National Day Parade (NDP) when she was hit by a Comfort cab.

ComfortDelGro said the taxi driver has been suspended.

Her principal, Mrs Doris Lim, 52, said yesterday that several NDP organising committee officials called her school in the morning after reading the report.

She said Colonel Desmond Tan, 39, chairman of the NDP show committee, was among the first to call her.

Said Mrs Lim: 'He asked how Jie Min was. He said he might go down to the hospital to show some support.'

She said after Col Tan's call, other NDP officials from the Ministry of Defence (Mindef) also called to find out how Jie Min was doing.

'I didn't expect them to call. It tells us Singaporeans still care,' she said.

'It's Mindef, a very disciplined organisation, showing care for one schoolgirl out of the thousands of participants. It shows Singaporeans have a heart.'

Brigadier-General Tan Chuan-Jin, chairman of the NDP executive committee, told The New Paper in a statement: 'We are saddened by the accident to Jie Min. Our thoughts and prayers will be with her and her family. We wish her a full and speedy recovery.'

The New Paper met Col Tan and Brig-Gen Tan at the KK Women's and Children's Hospital (KKH) yesterday after they visited Jie Min and gave her parents a hamper.

They declined to comment, saying that this was a private matter for her family.

Jie Min's parents, technical support officer William Tng, 51, and Madam May Leong, 49, a buyer of electrical parts, have been by her side at the ICU since Tuesday. They said they were grateful to both men for visiting and found it encouraging.

Moral support

Said Mr Tng: 'It gives us the moral support to be strong.' He said that he and his wife had taken leave as they can't concentrate at work.

In an e-mail reply, a ComfortDelGro spokesman said it was disappointed to learn of the accident and its concern now was for Jie Min's speedy recovery.

She said company representatives visited the family yesterday at the hospital.

'We are in touch with her family and will render them assistance during this difficult time.

'We are also assisting the police in their investigations and have suspended the driver pending the outcome of these investigations,' the spokesman said.

Madam Leong said Ms Rita Cheok, Comfort's vice-president of customer service, also visited them yesterday.

Jie Min's parents said about 20 of her classmates and her form teacher from 1 Integrity dropped by despite knowing they would not be able to enter the ICU.

They gave her parents a card telling them to be strong and reassuring them they will help her when she returns to school.

Mr Tng said Mayflower had been supportive, with teachers calling them to enquire about her condition. He said even Mrs Bilveer Singh, the principal of the girl's primary school, Da Qiao Primary, called after reading the report.

On Thursday, Mr Tng said: 'One of her teachers (at Mayflower) had even asked us if we needed blood. He said he would round up the teachers if we needed any and to just give him a call.'

Mrs Lim said the teacher, Mr Sandridge Ong, was in charge of the 100-member dance group, which Jie Min is part of. She said he had made the offer on his own and added: 'It's the right thing to do.'

She said the school will look at how it can help Jie Min when she resumes her studies.

Said Mrs Lim: 'She might need to study from home and we may have to send our teachers over to do tutoring.'

Mr Tng said Jie Min had been looking forward to taking part in the NDP at the Marina Bay floating platform as she loved the atmosphere of such major events.

She was among 100 Mayflower students who took part in a dance item for the opening ceremony of the Asian Youth Games in June.

Her friends in school are eager to welcome her back.

Said Mrs Lim: 'NDP will be over but Jie Min will still be here.'

just an accident, wonder how many more will repeat? my mom was knocked down by a van on the pedestrain walk when the light was green, many years ago. now same thing still happening. why? why? why?

remember the police gave a sentence that was karma!! karma?

so this is karma too.

Taxi again. Always reckless driving.

how come no more news? recover already? or

http://tnp.sg/news/story/0,4136,210759,00.html?

NDP girl wakes up
After 9 days in ICU, she's finally moved to normal ward
By Andre Yeo

August 18, 2009


MADE WITH HOPE: 1,000 paper cranes were folded by schoolmates of Jie Min as a show of support for her. TNP PICTURE: GAVIN FOO

THE National Day girl whose story touched Singaporeans has come out of her heavily-sedated sleep.

She regained consciousness on National Day.

Tng Jie Min, 12, was hit by a taxi on 4 Aug after a rehearsal for the National Day Parade (NDP). When The New Paper reported her story, tearful readers called expressing sympathy and hope for her recovery.

The Mayflower Secondary School student was in the intensive care unit (ICU) of the KK Women's and Children's Hospital (KKH) after suffering head injuries.

She was highly sedated and her parents, Mr William Tng, 51, and Madam May Leong, 49, did not know when she would wake up.

Her parents had been keeping vigil at the ICU when, at 9am on National Day, Madam Leong noticed some movement.

Madam Leong, a buyer of electrical parts, told The New Paper: 'She opened her left eye and yawned. I shot out of my chair to her side and said to her, 'You are all right now. Finally, you've opened your eyes'.'

She and her husband were so happy, they cried.

Madam Leong said Jie Min is on her way to recovery but the process could take months. Jie Min was transferred from the ICU to a high-dependency ward on Thursday.

She was then moved to a normal ward the next day.

Grateful

Jie Min does not recognise anyone yet, but her parents are hopeful and grateful for the improvement and wanted to thank all those who had helped them deal with the accident.

The couple has two other children - a son, 19, and another girl, 16.

The New Paper had reported on 7 Aug how Jie Min had been looking forward to taking part in her first NDP when she was hit by a cab.

A police spokesman had said the accident happened near Jie Min's school at the junction of Ang Mo Kio Avenue 4 and Street 11.

She was conscious when taken to the hospital. The police are investigating the case. ComfortDelGro said the taxi driver had been suspended.

Mr Tng, a technical support officer, had said Jie Min underwent a 90-minute operation on the day of the accident to relieve pressure in her brain.

Readers had called The New Paper to show their support to the family after reading the report.

Madam Puvanakanthi, 56, a director at a security firm and a mother of two adult children, cried when she called our hotline.

She said she had taken part in NDP in the early '70s and could understand what Jie Min had missed.

On Friday, she said: 'I felt so sad because she is so young and was doing something for the nation. I remember we did our best and it was a proud moment for us.

'That's why I felt for her.'

When told that Jie Min had woken up, she said: 'That's wonderful, that's wonderful.'

This is only suffered by the peasant's kid. Imagine if this happen to white scum's kid, I think it will not be so simple.

TAXI AGAIN, ALWAYS TAXI. :oIo:

The worse lot of drivers out there, F1, Stunt drivers, King of the road, you name it you have it.

The next group is Van & Lorry, way above their speed limit of 60 or 70km/h, running at 100 / 110 km/h is so common. TP sleeping.

there are over 20k taxis in Singapore...and they are on the road most of the time...therefore it's not suprising they are involved in a higher number of accidents...simple logic...