SINGAPORE - The two women who died when their car plunged into Alexandra Canal on Sunday night have been identified as Madam Yep Lay Choo, 51, and her daughter, Ms Kimberly Poon, 22.
Madam Yep's husband, Mr Robin Poon, 50, who runs a car repair business, said he was at a loss about what to do after losing his wife and daughter.
"They are my princesses," he said.
Mr Poon said his wife was a very quiet woman. "But she was a workaholic," he said.
He described his daughter Kimberly, who was in a logistics course at the Singapore Institute of Management, as a very easygoing and bubbly person.
He was at the morgue on Monday morning with relatives to collect the victims' bodies.
Mr Poon said the family had gone for lunch in the afternoon at an Italian restaurant at Hotel Vagabond in Syed Alwi Road, followed by foot massages.
They then went their separate ways for dinner as Mr Poon had an appointment.
"That was the last I saw them," he said.
Madam Yep, a human resource manager, and Ms Poon, their only child, went for dinner at Valley Point Shopping Centre. The duo took the family car, a silver Mercedes E250.
Madam Yep's brother, Mr Yep Tai Sai, 54, said CCTV footage from the mall showed the two walking happily in the carpark carrying grocery bags.
"They were smiling and walking, nothing was wrong," said Mr Yep.
Eyewitnesses told The Straits Times that the car emerged from the carpark of Valley Point Shopping Centre in River Valley Road at around 9pm. It drove straight into the bushes next to Alexandra Canal before hitting the water.
Mr Poon told Shin Min Daily News that the CCTV also captured the car leaving the carpark. He saw his wife and daughter for a last time in the footage, he said.
It is understood that Mdm Yep was driving while her daughter was sitting in the front passenger seat. From the footage, Mdm Yep looked like she was stepping on the brake, Mr Poon said.
He added that she had been driving for about 20 years and was an experienced driver.
He said that his wife and their daughter were close and they were planning to go on a holiday to Hong Kong.
Witnesses told Lianhe Wanbao that the car sank into the water quickly, and turned upside down.
The police and the Singapore Civil Defence Force arrived shortly after, as about 200 people gathered near the canal and the mall to see what was happening.
A floodlight was installed and a ladder placed at the spot where the vehicle was believed to have entered the water.
The women were in the water for about 30 minutes before divers retrieved their bodies, Shin Min reported.
The police said they received a call at 9.02pm requesting assistance at the canal near 491 River Valley Road.
Upon arrival, it was established that an accident involving a car had occurred at the location.
The two women were pronounced dead on scene by paramedics. The police are investigating the unnatural deaths.
