SINGAPORE - The 64-year-old woman who died after her husband allegedly drove his car into her on Tuesday (April 25) night was a "well-loved and respected colleague" in the Ministry of Manpower (MOM), said Minister for Social and Family Development Tan Chuan-Jin in a Facebook post on Wednesday.

"She has been a dedicated officer who actively looked out for the well-being of the workers working here," wrote Mr Tan, who served in the Manpower Ministry from 2012 to 2015. "A most unfortunate and tragic accident and our thoughts are with her family during this time of bereavement."

Mrs Quek-Ng Siew Fong, senior deputy director at MOM's foreign manpower management division, died in Tan Tock Seng Hospital after being hit by her husband's car at Block 332, Ang Mo Kio Avenue 1, an eyewitness told The Straits Times.

She had just alighted from his vehicle at the block, and had not shut the door when her husband, believed to be reversing into a parking lot, hit the accelerator, said deliveryman Johnson Chin, 55, who was at the scene.

Hearing his wife cry out, Mr Quek Chin Ling, 67, appeared to panic and stepped on the wrong pedal, running her over, said Mr Chin.

The silver car then hit two parked motorcycles and crashed into a pillar at the Housing Board block, where it came to a halt, he added.

The owner of a nearby eyewear shop who wanted to be known only as Mr Siah, 48, said he rushed out to the carpark when he heard a loud thud close to 8pm on Tuesday.

"I saw a woman lying on the ground, covered in blood," he said, adding that she was bleeding heavily from the head.

"A man came out of his car and was squatting by her side, saying 'I hit my wife, I hit my wife'," he recalled.

Mr Siah added: "He kept blaming himself, and seemed to be at a loss."

Onlookers quickly called for an ambulance, and a student who said he was trained as a nurse came forward to help, said Mr Siah. But the woman appeared to have no pulse at the time, he said.

When The Straits Times visited Mr Quek's home near Toa Payoh on Wednesday, no one was around.

A neighbour who declined to be identified said that while the couple lived there, their children did not. One of their children is believed to live abroad, she added.

A 74-year-old cleaner who did not want to be named said that she often saw the couple heading out when she arrived at their block for work around 7am in the morning.

"They often go out together," she said, noting their absence on Wednesday.