A Singaporean woman who was in Batam for a birthday trip with her friends died in a go-kart accident on Feb 21 – a day after she turned 33.

In the incident at the Golden City Go Kart in Bengkong, Ms Arini Mohamed Adinan’s go-kart was seen going at high speed before hitting a barrier lined with tyres, said Police Commissioner Zahwani Pandra Arsyad, head of public relations for the regional police in the Riau Islands.

“Witnesses saw the victim in a go-kart with the number 14 and driving two laps around the track,” he told The Straits Times. “Her go-kart hit the barrier in the circuit.”

The impact of the crash caused Ms Arini’s helmet to be thrown off.

A worker at the site immediately approached her and saw strands of her hair caught in one of the rear wheels of the go-kart.

The incident occurred at around 3.30pm local time (4.30pm Singapore time).

Ms Arini was taken to a nearby clinic, where she was pronounced dead.

Her friends – Ms Karmeli, 27; Ms Zeth, in her 40s; and Ms Julie, in her 50s – who were go-karting with her when the tragedy happened, told ST on Feb 22 that there were problems with their go-karts. The women declined to give their full names.

Ms Zeth said she tried but failed to brake after seeing Ms Arini’s vehicle crash.

“I had to force the kart to bang against the tyre wall to stop. But the engine was still running,” said Ms Zeth, adding that they were the only drivers on the circuit at that time.

The women refuted media reports that said Ms Arini was not wearing a shower cap or a hair net.

“She did wear a hair net,” said Ms Karmeli.

Ms Julie added that the women helped one another to put on the helmets and there was no safety briefing.

Ms Zeth, a regular go-kart driver, said: “It pains my heart when I read the comments by netizens saying we don’t know how to put on the helmets.”

Ms Arini’s body arrived at Pusara Aman mosque in Singapore at 5.30pm on Feb 22, and she was buried at the cemetery next to it just before 7pm.

More than 100 family members, friends and colleagues were at the funeral to bid her farewell.

Ms Arini’s brother Mohamed Redzwan told Malay-language daily Berita Harian: “We were really shocked and saddened when we were told of the incident.”

He added: “We were unaware of her movements in Batam. The last time we met was on Tuesday (Feb 20), when I returned from work.”

He said that Ms Arini, a logistics worker, was the second of three siblings. She lived with her mother and stepfather in Chinatown.

She was close to her family and was very loving, especially towards her mother, he added.

Mr Haiqal Sabtu, 34, a childhood friend who was at the funeral, told ST that she was “a friendly person who loves to mingle with people”.

Ms Arini’s former colleague at a warehousing firm, who gave her name only as Lydia, said the tragedy “hit all of us hard”.

The 33-year-old said Ms Arini “was a laid-back person who was never rude”.

“She had a calm spirit,” she added.

The Indonesian police are investigating the accident.

Mr Zahwani told ST that the authorities will take action against those found to be negligent.