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<TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%"><TBODY><TR class=msghead><TD class=msgbfr1 width="1%"></TD><TD><TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0><TBODY><TR class=msghead vAlign=top><TD class=msgF width="1%" noWrap align=right>From: </TD><TD class=msgFname width="68%" noWrap>WongKanSeng <NOBR></NOBR> </TD><TD class=msgDate width="30%" noWrap align=right>1:07 am </TD></TR><TR class=msghead><TD class=msgT height=20 width="1%" noWrap align=right>To: </TD><TD class=msgTname width="68%" noWrap>ALL <NOBR></NOBR></TD><TD class=msgNum noWrap align=right> </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR><TR><TD class=msgleft rowSpan=4 width="1%"> </TD><TD class=wintiny noWrap align=right>26420.1 </TD></TR><TR><TD height=8></TD></TR><TR><TD class=msgtxt>Driver shouted & gestured angrily
Another eyewitness steps forward, saying he wanted to smash windscreen to stop driver. -TNP
Wed, Dec 23, 2009
The New Paper
By CHONG SHIN YEN
HE HAD seen the car hit two men and move on.
Determined to do something, the 38-year-old part-time bartender ran onto the road, pointed at the driver and waved at him to stop.
When it looked like the black Audi wasn't going to, David got angry and frustrated.
He grabbed a stone from the ground and was going to throw it at the car, hoping to smash the windscreen and make the driver stop.
Said David (not his real name): "Maybe he (the driver) saw my actions. Before I could throw, the car came close towards me and looked like it was going to knock me down too."
Sensing danger, he dropped the stone and jumped over the railings on the central divider, and fell on the other side of the road.
He looked up, and saw the driver of the Audi pulling up beside him.
Said David: "The driver rolled down the window and scolded me. I could not make out what he was saying.
But he looked angry, shouting and gesturing, as if I was blocking his way."
The driver then drove off.
But that wasn't the end of it.
Just as David was picking himself up, he heard a loud thud from behind him. "I turned around and saw another guy lying on the ground at the next junction," he said.
"By then, the Audi was already out of my sight. It all happened very fast."
David contacted The New Paper after he read of what another witness saw.
The witness had called The New Paper after reading our reports on the double hit-and-run accident in Bukit Panjang around 3am on Tuesday.
Three men ended up in hospital, one in critical condition.
We are not using David's real name to protect his identity.
David, who has since given his statement to the police, told us that the Audi was the only vehicle on the road at the time and it was travelling "rather fast".
Recalling what happened before the accident, David said he was having a drink with a friend at the coffee shop when he heard the loud revving of a car.
When they looked up, they saw the Audi knocking down two men who were crossing the road.
The car stopped for a moment before it started to move off.
David said he then sprang into action.
He jumped over two railings onto the road and gestured at the Audi driver to stop.
While he was running, he was on his handphone calling the police.
At that time, the car was about 3min front of him.
David showed us the scratches on his right leg which he said he got while jumping over the railings.
When asked if he was worried for his safety while he was trying to stop the car, David shrugged and said: "I didn't think of it at that time. I just wanted to stop him(the driver) from fleeing."
While the drama was happening, David's friend, 50, rushed to help the two victims, Mr Tong Kok Wai and Mr Bong Hwee Haw.
Mr Tong, 30, and Mr Bong, 24, both Malaysians, are friends and had just finished supper at a nearby 24-hour coffee shop in Block 259, Bukit Panjang Ring Road.
They were crossing the junction of Bukit Panjang Road and Bangkit Road when they were hit.
Both suffered head injuries and fractures.
The third victim, Muhd Haris Abu Talib, 18, a student, was hit at the next junction, about 140maway.
He suffered injuries to his leg and neck.
David said he stayed at the scene to help the victims before the ambulances arrived.
By then, a crowd had gathered.
Said David: "I saw both of them being flung off and land metres away. They were badly injured and there was a lot of blood on the road. They were unconscious and we didn't dare to move them."
The same morning, David went down to the police station and gave his statement.
He also went down to the CID on Wednesday to help the police piece together a photofit of the driver.
Yesterday, a police spokesman said they are tracking down the driver. No one has been arrested so far.
David said he has been following the news about the accident by reading the papers every day.
He feels sorry about what happened to the three victims, especially Mr Tong, who's unconscious and in critical condition with severe brain damage, and hopes the driver will be caught soon.
He said: "I read that doctors had told Mr Tong's family that there is little chance of him recovering.
"It's a pity, he just got married.
"The man had driven aggressively and it was irresponsible of him to flee just like that."
David said he visited Mr Bong at the National University Hospital the day after the accident.
He did not see Mr Tong as he could not find his ward.
He added that he does not remember the car's licence plate number, but is certain about the make of the car.
A black Audi A6, which belongs to the Romanian embassy, had been reported stolen just before 4am on Tuesday, by Dr Silviu Ionescu, who is the charge d'affaires.
It was later found abandoned at Sungei Kadut, an industrial area about 5km from the scene of the accidents.
Moved by their plight, S'poreans come forward
IT IS not easy to get people to step forward as witnesses to accidents.
Former police officers say this is because people generally don't want to get involved.
Former police officer Luke Lee said it is even harder to get witnesses to testify in court.
Mr Lee, now a lawyer, retired 20 years ago, after 16 years in the police force.
Another former police officer, Mr Lionel de Souza, said: "It used to be difficult because people had the 'mind your own business' mind set."
But since the double hit-and-run accident at Bukit Panjang on Tuesday, at least two people have come forward as witnesses.
On Thursday, a taxi driver called us to say he might have seen the driver of the black Audi A6 walking away from the car at Sungei Kadut. We carried his account yesterday. Then came David's call yesterday.
So what is it about this case that brings out the civic-mindedness? That there were three victims?
That the culprit had appeared to show no mercy for his victims and remorse after that?
Mr de Souza said: "I think the public got angry. The driver seemed to be callous."
Mr Lee noted that the press coverage probably encouraged witnesses to step forward.
"This is a good sign that people are now coming forward to give useful evidence," he said.
Heartened
Madam Yenni Young, 31, is heartened to know that witnesses have come forward. She is the wife of one of the three victims, Malaysian Tong Kok Wai, 30, who is still unconscious in hospital.
"I'm very glad people are coming forward to say what they saw," she said.
Doctors have told Mr Tong's family that his condition has not improved,and there is a possibility that he might be brain dead.
Madam Young, an Indonesian who works as an assistant manager at a hotel here, thanked The New Paper, saying: "Thank you for writing the stories. These people came forward after reading the reports."
While she maintains she is not angry with the driver, she said: "I just hope he will come and say sorry to the three (victims).
"What's done is done. I can't turn back time."
When asked how many witnesses have come forward, a police spokesman said it was inappropriate for the police to comment as investigations are ongoing.
A police sign, appealing for witnesses, sits at the junction of Bukit Panjang Road and Bangkit Road where the accident happened.
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Another eyewitness steps forward, saying he wanted to smash windscreen to stop driver. -TNP
Wed, Dec 23, 2009
The New Paper
By CHONG SHIN YEN
HE HAD seen the car hit two men and move on.
Determined to do something, the 38-year-old part-time bartender ran onto the road, pointed at the driver and waved at him to stop.
When it looked like the black Audi wasn't going to, David got angry and frustrated.
He grabbed a stone from the ground and was going to throw it at the car, hoping to smash the windscreen and make the driver stop.
Said David (not his real name): "Maybe he (the driver) saw my actions. Before I could throw, the car came close towards me and looked like it was going to knock me down too."
Sensing danger, he dropped the stone and jumped over the railings on the central divider, and fell on the other side of the road.
He looked up, and saw the driver of the Audi pulling up beside him.
Said David: "The driver rolled down the window and scolded me. I could not make out what he was saying.
But he looked angry, shouting and gesturing, as if I was blocking his way."
The driver then drove off.
But that wasn't the end of it.
Just as David was picking himself up, he heard a loud thud from behind him. "I turned around and saw another guy lying on the ground at the next junction," he said.
"By then, the Audi was already out of my sight. It all happened very fast."
David contacted The New Paper after he read of what another witness saw.
The witness had called The New Paper after reading our reports on the double hit-and-run accident in Bukit Panjang around 3am on Tuesday.
Three men ended up in hospital, one in critical condition.
We are not using David's real name to protect his identity.
David, who has since given his statement to the police, told us that the Audi was the only vehicle on the road at the time and it was travelling "rather fast".
Recalling what happened before the accident, David said he was having a drink with a friend at the coffee shop when he heard the loud revving of a car.
When they looked up, they saw the Audi knocking down two men who were crossing the road.
The car stopped for a moment before it started to move off.
David said he then sprang into action.
He jumped over two railings onto the road and gestured at the Audi driver to stop.
While he was running, he was on his handphone calling the police.
At that time, the car was about 3min front of him.
David showed us the scratches on his right leg which he said he got while jumping over the railings.
When asked if he was worried for his safety while he was trying to stop the car, David shrugged and said: "I didn't think of it at that time. I just wanted to stop him(the driver) from fleeing."
While the drama was happening, David's friend, 50, rushed to help the two victims, Mr Tong Kok Wai and Mr Bong Hwee Haw.
Mr Tong, 30, and Mr Bong, 24, both Malaysians, are friends and had just finished supper at a nearby 24-hour coffee shop in Block 259, Bukit Panjang Ring Road.
They were crossing the junction of Bukit Panjang Road and Bangkit Road when they were hit.
Both suffered head injuries and fractures.
The third victim, Muhd Haris Abu Talib, 18, a student, was hit at the next junction, about 140maway.
He suffered injuries to his leg and neck.
David said he stayed at the scene to help the victims before the ambulances arrived.
By then, a crowd had gathered.
Said David: "I saw both of them being flung off and land metres away. They were badly injured and there was a lot of blood on the road. They were unconscious and we didn't dare to move them."
The same morning, David went down to the police station and gave his statement.
He also went down to the CID on Wednesday to help the police piece together a photofit of the driver.
Yesterday, a police spokesman said they are tracking down the driver. No one has been arrested so far.
David said he has been following the news about the accident by reading the papers every day.
He feels sorry about what happened to the three victims, especially Mr Tong, who's unconscious and in critical condition with severe brain damage, and hopes the driver will be caught soon.
He said: "I read that doctors had told Mr Tong's family that there is little chance of him recovering.
"It's a pity, he just got married.
"The man had driven aggressively and it was irresponsible of him to flee just like that."
David said he visited Mr Bong at the National University Hospital the day after the accident.
He did not see Mr Tong as he could not find his ward.
He added that he does not remember the car's licence plate number, but is certain about the make of the car.
A black Audi A6, which belongs to the Romanian embassy, had been reported stolen just before 4am on Tuesday, by Dr Silviu Ionescu, who is the charge d'affaires.
It was later found abandoned at Sungei Kadut, an industrial area about 5km from the scene of the accidents.
Moved by their plight, S'poreans come forward
IT IS not easy to get people to step forward as witnesses to accidents.
Former police officers say this is because people generally don't want to get involved.
Former police officer Luke Lee said it is even harder to get witnesses to testify in court.
Mr Lee, now a lawyer, retired 20 years ago, after 16 years in the police force.
Another former police officer, Mr Lionel de Souza, said: "It used to be difficult because people had the 'mind your own business' mind set."
But since the double hit-and-run accident at Bukit Panjang on Tuesday, at least two people have come forward as witnesses.
On Thursday, a taxi driver called us to say he might have seen the driver of the black Audi A6 walking away from the car at Sungei Kadut. We carried his account yesterday. Then came David's call yesterday.
So what is it about this case that brings out the civic-mindedness? That there were three victims?
That the culprit had appeared to show no mercy for his victims and remorse after that?
Mr de Souza said: "I think the public got angry. The driver seemed to be callous."
Mr Lee noted that the press coverage probably encouraged witnesses to step forward.
"This is a good sign that people are now coming forward to give useful evidence," he said.
Heartened
Madam Yenni Young, 31, is heartened to know that witnesses have come forward. She is the wife of one of the three victims, Malaysian Tong Kok Wai, 30, who is still unconscious in hospital.
"I'm very glad people are coming forward to say what they saw," she said.
Doctors have told Mr Tong's family that his condition has not improved,and there is a possibility that he might be brain dead.
Madam Young, an Indonesian who works as an assistant manager at a hotel here, thanked The New Paper, saying: "Thank you for writing the stories. These people came forward after reading the reports."
While she maintains she is not angry with the driver, she said: "I just hope he will come and say sorry to the three (victims).
"What's done is done. I can't turn back time."
When asked how many witnesses have come forward, a police spokesman said it was inappropriate for the police to comment as investigations are ongoing.
A police sign, appealing for witnesses, sits at the junction of Bukit Panjang Road and Bangkit Road where the accident happened.
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