While having his breakfast yesterday, Mr Teo Seng Chwee, 56, heard a loud noise that sent him rushing towards an open-air carpark in Jurong West Street 81.

A CityCab taxi had mounted a kerb and shot up a low wall before being wedged in the middle of the sheltered walkway between HDB blocks 816 and 817.

The odd-job worker, who was at a nearby coffee shop, said the taxi driver might have mistakenly stepped hard on the accelerator while it was in the reverse gear.

The Singapore Civil Defence Force was alerted to the incident at about 8.10am and sent one ambulance to the scene. No injuries were reported, it said.

There was still a crowd of curious onlookers, some snapping pictures of the Hyundai cab, when The Straits Times was there at about 9.30am. The driver was not present at the accident scene, which was cordoned off by the police.

By 10am, a tow truck had removed the taxi, which appeared to have damaged its undercarriage.

A resident, who declined to be named, said the walkway was popular during the weekends with bird lovers showing off their songbirds. He said: "Thankfully, it's a weekday and no one was there."

Ms Tammy Tan, group corporate communications officer of ComfortDelGro, said: "We are relieved that members of the public were not injured by this incident. We are in touch with our cabby and will assist the police in their investigations."

Calvin Yang