SINGAPORE (THE NEW PAPER) - Mr Cwa Cheng Kiat, 51, a delivery driver, was nearly not able to make it to his wedding.

He was on his way home past midnight on Jan 28 when his car was involved in a collision with a BMW at Pasir Ris Drive 1.

It resulted in Mr Cwa being hospitalised for about a week at Changi General Hospital, after undergoing a four-hour-long operation to put metal supports in his neck.

He has been discharged for three days so he can attend his wedding at D'Resort at Downtown East today.

Despite the swollen limbs, back pain and neck brace, Mr Cwa was in good spirits when The New Paper visited him at his Pasir Ris home on Monday .

He said: "I am overjoyed I can come out of the hospital to get married. I thought I couldn't go to my own wedding, and I felt so sad about it.

"But the doctor examined me and said I could return on Thursday for further check-ups."

He also has permission to remove his neck brace for his wedding, but said he has been cautioned not to move his head too much.

PAIN

Said Mr Cwa: "It is so unfair because it messed up all my plans... Now, every step I take is painful, my back throbs and my head cannot turn properly.

"I can barely eat and I don't feel like a functional person."

This is his second marriage.

He got divorced about 20 years ago. He has a daughter from that marriage and last saw her when she was six.

Mr Cwa's fiancee is a chef from Kuala Lumpur, who wanted to be known only as Ms Anna.

"I met her about a decade ago at the restaurant in Malaysia where she cooked such good food," Mr Cwa said.

They stayed in touch, and their relationship became more serious last year.

Ms Anna told TNP that when the accident happened, she was terrified he might die.

The 48-year-old said: "My heart dropped and I just kept crying. I am happy to have him here with me. He is such a big part of my life."

Mr Cwa still has other problems to worry about.

He works as a freelance delivery driver for Amazon but will be unable to do his job for the next two to three months due to his injuries.

"It is just a few seconds but it has changed my life so much. Now I can't work and I have to support my wife and my mother, who is in her 80s with diabetes," he said.

A police spokesman told TNP that on Jan 28 at 1.55am, they were alerted to an accident between two cars along Pasir Ris Drive 1 towards Pasir Ris Drive 12. Investigations are ongoing.

Ms Anna said: "I want to tell all road users to drive carefully. It is not just about your own life, but the lives of others as well."