SINGAPORE - A Catholic priest from the Church of The Immaculate Heart of Mary in Kovan was hit by a van at a slip road in Upper Paya Lebar Road on Monday morning.

The police said in a statement on Tuesday that at around 5.45am on Monday, they were alerted to an accident involving a van and a pedestrian at the location near Lorong Ah Soo.

Father Luke Fong, 56, was conscious when taken to the hospital.

The police added that the 39-year-old male van driver was arrested for dangerous driving causing hurt. Police investigations are ongoing.

The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) said on Tuesday that at about 5.50am on Monday, it received a call for assistance and sent a man to Sengkang General Hospital.

Father Paul Ngo, the parish priest, said in a Facebook post on Tuesday: "Father Luke looks better today. His vital signs are good and he is able to open his eyes to acknowledge his family members.

"The doctors say it's still early days and will continue to scan his head to track the degree of bleeding around his brain."

In a previous post on Monday evening, Father Paul explained that Father Luke had gone for his early morning run before mass, and was hit by the van.

He added that the priest was in a high dependency ward and was not responsive then.

Father Paul had said: "The good news is that there isn't any damage to his spine and vital organs. The doctors' primary concern is the swelling in the tissue cushioning his brain and the fractures to his skull."

In an interview with The Straits Times in 2015, Father Luke had said he had been diagnosed with a potentially fatal strain of leukaemia in 2013.

In a 2013 blog post, Father Luke said he was cancer-free after a medical procedure.

A Chicago resident had donated his stem cells to Father Luke, and they met during Christmas time in 2015.