Ng Ah Sio Bak Kut Teh founder injured, passenger killed in car crash in Nassim Road

SINGAPORE - A passenger in a car driven by the founder of Ng Ah Sio Bak Kut Teh died after the vehicle crashed into a tree on Tuesday evening.

Mr Ng Siak Hai, 86, was driving the car with two passengers – both men, aged 72 and 75 – when it crashed into a tree and flipped, trapping them inside the vehicle.

All three men were freed by Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) personnel using hydraulic rescue equipment and taken to Tan Tock Seng Hospital.

The 72-year-old male passenger subsequently died in hospital.

The police said they were alerted at about 7.30pm on Tuesday to an accident involving a car that was believed to have skidded on Nassim Road towards Tanglin Road.

When The Straits Times visited the accident site near Eden Hall, the official residence of the British High Commissioner to Singapore, on Thursday, offerings had been placed near the tree.

Shards of glass could be seen near the base of the tree, the trunk of which was damaged.

An eyewitness who declined to be named said he heard a series of noises that were “louder than gunshots” when the accident occurred.

The witness said the driver of the car that was behind the vehicle that crashed into the tree stopped by the roadside, got out and called for help. She asked onlookers to find out how many people were trapped in the car.

By then, smoke had begun to fill the vehicle, which had flipped onto the driver’s side, and onlookers initially thought only two people were trapped in the front. 

The doors and windows were stuck, but they managed to force open the boot.  When the smoke cleared, the witness realised another passenger was trapped in the back of the car.

SCDF officers had to cut open the roof to free the trapped victims, the witness added.

Police investigations are ongoing.