Guys, a posting which I've cut from one of the forums, dated 19th May
Dear Friends,
My name is Dawn Chia Siam Mui and I have a lot of words to say. Please read on (Please also forward this mail to your friends so that the chances of us finding the witness maybe higher). I don't know whether this method will work or not, but I just hope for the best.
My nephew, Shawn Tan Yong Ming (he is my elder sister's son and my most favourite nephew), got into a fatal motor accident at Ang Mo Kio Ave 1 & 6 Cross Junction (very near to Bishan Park and Blk 307) and he passed away suddenly due to serious injury in Singapore General Hospital at 8.40pm on the same day).
The details are as follows:
Date of Accident : 15 May 2003 (last Thursday - Vesak Day)
Time of Accident : 7.45 pm
Place of Accident : Along Ang Mo Kio Ave 1 & 6 Cross Junction (the police has already placed the metal plate to look for eye-witnesses at the scene)
The past few days have been a very difficult time for the family, relatives and friends. He is only 20 years old going to 21 this coming September. While typing this letter, tears just flow out from my eyes. I still cannot believe that he is dead. He is really a very lovable & easy going boy and I cannot describe the hurt and sadness that I am facing now but I am sure the parents and siblings must be facing more hurt than me.
Shawn is the eldest son in the family and he has left behind his parents (the father is a SBS bus driver and the mother is a stall helper), a sister who is going to the polytechnic this June (her studies maybe postphoned due to financial difficulty because of this accident), the youngest brother who is only in secondary 1 and 2 grandmothers to mourn for him. (When the parents reached the hospital, he is already dead. So, he died alone with no loved ones by his side)
I always read of such cases in the newspapers and I felt very sad. Never did I know that it will happen to my loved one today (Now, I really know the pain). Till now, I cannot accept that he has already gone, the memory of him is still so fresh in my mind. I really cannot use words to describe how I am feeling at this moment.
For the past few days, we are busy with the funeral arrangements.
So, it is only today that I managed to talk to the traffic police officer in charge of Shawn's case. There is still no eye-witness to this accident at the moment.
I sincerely begged the eye-witness to come forward so that at least we know what actually happened on that day. It is a cross junction and the time of accident is 7.45pm, thus, I am confident that there must be drivers or pedestrians who have witnessed this accident .
I know that it is troublesome to be a witness, but, please step forward so that at least the family members know how he died. He is still so young.
Although the newspapers reported that the Mercedes Benz driver (52 years old) is currently out of bail and is at fault (because he is on the turning lane and my nephew is going straight), we are still not sure whether this information is accurate.
Irregardless of whether who is at fault, we just want to know the truth (he is just riding a scooter, how could the impact be so great as to cause his death?). If it is Shawn's fault, we have nothing to say and hope that he will rest in peace, but if it is the driver's fault, we want justice to be done.
I, as his relative, cannot just sit and do nothing, his parents are not well-educated and if I also "bochap", who is going to find out the truth? The undertaker told me that both his hands were clasped tightly when he collected the body and this means that he died unwillingly and not resting in peace), and I have also seen it with my own eyes that his hands were really clasped.
Please pass this message on to anyone you know or your family and friends.
If anyone has witness the accident, please call the traffic police at 1800-547-1818. If the witness is proved to be credible by the police, we will give him a token of appreciation of $500. We know that $500 is not a big amount, but, we are just an average income family, so, that's the best amount that we can offer (but if the witness request for more reward, we will definitely try our best to raise the money).
Please come forward if you have witness the case.
Thank you and Best regards
Dawn Chia
H/P 94366684