THOMSON ROAD'S CUT-THROAT BRIDGE
I could see BLOOD GUSHING from his throat
Stunned girlfriend could only sit and cry
By Ng Hui Hui
November 21, 2007
APART from a drizzle, last Sunday was like any other day as Mr Ng Beng Choon took his girlfriend on his motorcycle to her Toa Payoh home.
Then out of the blue, a freak accident happened - and his life may never be the same again.
Just as Mr Ng's 180cc motorbike was nearing Thomson Medical Centre at Thomson Road, he saw a lightning conductor strip swing loose from the overhead bridge.
He tried to brake but, the next thing he knew, both he and his girlfriend were thrown off the motorbike.
His neck was caught in the strip.
The incident happened around 5pm.
It was drizzling and the couple were riding at about 40kmh, recalled Mr Ng's girlfriend, Miss Carol Hwee.
Mr Ng, 28, is now in Tan Tock Seng Hospital's intensive care unit.
VOICE BOX SHATTERED
His voice box was shattered, said Miss Hwee, 20, who suffered multiple abrasions in the fall.
She now fears that her chef boyfriend may never talk again.
Ms Hwee at Mr Ng's bedside.
Miss Hwee told The New Paper that Mr Ng emerged from the operating theatre at 1am yesterday after reconstruction surgery on his voice box.
Doctors are 'keeping their fingers crossed that he will get his voice back', she said. 'It all depends on how well it heals.'
Mr Ng, who was breathing through a tube inserted into his throat, was conscious when The New Paper visited him yesterday.
The doctors had to create a tracheostomy - an opening at the base of the throat - to help him breathe as his windpipe was also injured.
Mr Ng, the only child of divorced parents, could read the newspapers and respond to people by shaking or nodding his head.
Initially, the couple communicated by typing messages on their handphones, but they stopped after being told they were not allowed to use handphones in the ICU.
NOTES
They now communicate by writing on pieces of paper provided by the nurse.
'The first thing he wrote to me was to tell me he was sorry for making me worried,' said Miss Hwee.
'I had been crying all the time since the accident and he said he was very worried about me when he was being wheeled into the operating theatre.'
-- Pictures: SHIN MIN DAILY NEWS
The terror of the accident is still fresh in her mind. At first, she was so shaken that she froze in shock.
She recalled: 'I was so shocked to see my boyfriend's throat slit open and blood gushing out that I could only sit on the road and cry for help.'
It was only when other motorists stopped to help that she regained her composure and called 995, she said.
Then, she ran into Thomson Medical Centre which was just nearby to ask for help.
Two nurses accompanied her to the scene. They were followed soon after by a doctor.
By then, an ambulance had also arrived.
Miss Hwee said Mr Ng was worried about the hospital bills and his job.
She said he takes home less than $2,000 a month. He lives with his 80-year-old grandmother and an aunt in a three-room HDB flat.
'He has to support his grandmother, so we don't know if he can cope with the hospital bills,' she said.
They also fear the accident might cause him to lose his job.
'We are worried that it will affect his taste buds which are crucial in his job as a cook,' she said.
Miss Hwee said Mr Ng has been trying to be strong so as not to worry her.
'But I feel the pain for him because I know that when he's alone at night in the ward, he must be imagining things and possibly thinking of the worst,' she said.
She said Mr Ng had obtained his Class 2B licence in February this year.
Her parents and two younger brothers, who had grown attached to Mr Ng during their courtship, had discouraged him against riding.
'But boys will be boys. He went ahead because he had a passion for riding,' she said.
Since the accident, Miss Hwee has not returned to the scene as she doesn't want to be reminded of what happened.
'My parents told me that when they passed by the place around 7pm that day, it appeared to have been fixed,' she said.
FORCE OF NATURE
Land Transport Authority (LTA) spokesman Suhana Kharudin said the overhead pedestrian bridge was struck by lightning late Sunday afternoon, 'causing the lightning conductor to be dislodged and a section of the conductor to dangle onto the carriageway'.
'When alerted, LTA immediately sent its staff to repair the lightning conductor,' she said.
Miss Suhana added that all overhead pedestrian bridges have lightning protection systems which are 'inspected on a yearly basis'.
The Traffic Police is investigating the incident.
Ms Hwee said that she and Mr Ng often go to karaoke chains to sing.
But they might not be able to do that anymore.
'I would give anything to hear his voice again. But even if I don't, I will not leave him because of this,' she said.