RE:
http://singaporeseen.stomp.com.sg/viewPost1033.aspx19 December 2006 - The owner of this white van parked on double yellow lines along French Road was in for a rude shock.
This time however, it was not the traffic police who punished him for the violation, but seemingly Mother Nature herself!
The torrential rain has certainly been taking its toll on the trees in Singapore.
M. Lukshumayeh , 48 sent in the main photo shown above. He was on the 4th floor of Kitchener Complex when at around 9.10pm he heard a sharp cracking noise followed by a very loud thump.
Rushing to the window, he saw that a large part of a tree along French road had snapped and collapsed on a stationary white van as shown below. His colleague Henry Suria immediately called the police.
Both men then rushed down to the scene concerned that there may be victims hurt. A crowd of about 30 had already gathered in the rain from the nearby coffeeshop and Jalan Besar Community Centre.
"The Civil Defence unit arrived in less than 10 minutes from when we first heard the tree break," said Mr. Lukshumayeh, "I'm glad no one was hurt."
He believes the driver of the vehicle to be a Malay man in his 30s, "we saw him remaining by the vehicle's side, fortunately unharmed."
P. Chandra Sagaran , 39 also passed by the scene of the accident while he was shopping along French Road. He took both the pictures shown above.
"I was there just as the Civil Defence officers arrived," stated Mr. Chandra, "a stall owner from the nearby coffeeshop told me that a woman in her early twenties was nearly crushed as well."
According to the stall owner, the young woman was walking along the same side of the road where the van was parked, when the broken part of the tree collapsed into the vehicle.
Well, STOMP is certainly relieved that the rain looks to end today!
A Clear Warning - Never Park Illegally!