Motorists and commuters were caught in a jam at the junction of Yio Chu Kang Road and Ang Mo Kio Avenue 5 yesterday as the traffic lights stopped working during a heavy downpour.

Pictures of the incident taken by Ms Dilah Ali, 31, showed a chaotic scene as cars and buses headed in different directions could barely make their way across the junction.

Ms Dilah, a receptionist, was on her way from Punggol to Toa Payoh on bus service 88. When traffic slowed at about 12.30pm, she thought it was due to the heavy rain.

"However, I saw a minor accident at the junction involving four cars. Then I realised that the traffic lights on all sides were not working," she said.

The bus was caught in the jam for about 15 minutes, said Ms Dilah.

She added that vehicles came in from all directions and she did not notice any that gave way.

"They just tailgated one another. I was a bit angry that the cars did not give way to the bus, and I heard many passengers from the lower deck urge the bus driver to 'just go'," Ms Dilah said.

She added that she saw only one Traffic Police officer arriving just as the bus emerged from the jam.

The Straits Times understands that a "technical issue" had occurred with the traffic lights at the junction, and that the lights were running by about 1.15pm.

Derek Wong