A Singaporean man died after a car crash while on his way to meet friends for supper in Johor Baru in the early hours of New Year's Day.

Mr Lim Yew Beng, 49, who lived in the city and worked as an electronics contractor, was driving his Mercedes-Benz when he collided with another car in Jalan Kuning, near the KSL City Mall, at around 1am.

His wife, Madam Linda Teh, 43, told Chinese evening paper Shin Min Daily News that her husband would often meet friends for supper after work and keep in touch with her on the phone.

When she did not hear from him for hours, she took their children, aged 10 and four, to look for him at the restaurant he frequented.

She saw a traffic accident on the way, but did not realise it involved her husband. When she arrived at the restaurant, it was closed, so she returned to her Johor home.

Madam Teh later returned to the traffic accident scene, where she gave her husband's particulars to police officers. They confirmed that he was involved in the crash.

Mr Lim died on the way to the hospital.

His body has been repatriated to Singapore.

Shin Min Daily News reported that Mr Lim's employees, who went to the mortuary in Johor after hearing of his death, said he was a caring man, and had a good rapport with his colleagues.

Just a week before the accident, three other Singaporeans were killed in a car crash while heading to Kuantan for a family holiday on Christmas Day.

Mr Barnabas Lim, 45, his wife Kristen, 39, and their six-year-old son Rayshon, died near Kota Tinggi in Johor. A Malaysian woman driving the other car involved was also killed.