Punggol resident almost impaled by tree that fell on car in thunderstorm

A Punggol resident found himself pinned in the driver's seat by a tree that fell on his car on Sunday.

During a thunderstorm around 3pm, the tree at Block 289C Punggol Place fell and crashed through a shelter just as Mr Gary Gong, 54, was about to turn into the carpark of the estate where he lives.

The tree, about four storeys tall, landed on top of his Toyota Camry. Two branches shattered the windscreen and a window and went into the car.

Speaking to The Straits Times (ST) yesterday, Mr Gong, a part-time real estate agent, recalled the harrowing experience of how he narrowly missed being impaled.

"One branch pierced the windscreen but became stuck near the gearbox next to my left leg," he said. "The other pierced the window of the driver's door, narrowly missing my right leg."

Mr Gong said he was so shocked that he could not move for about five minutes. "I wasn't scared at first... but then I slowly realised what had happened and my entire body went limp."

When he could not get out of the car, he called the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) for help.

An SCDF spokesman said its officers, using cutting equipment, took about 10 minutes to rescue Mr Gong, who was not injured.

Mr Gong, who has lived in the Punggol Arcadia estate for 10 years, estimated it would cost more than $10,000 to repair his car. His insurer is assessing if he will be able to make a claim.

He said he intends to take up the issue with the town council if he cannot claim from his insurer.

ST understands the tree is under the purview of the Pasir Ris-Punggol Town Council, and has contacted it for comment.

When ST visited the estate yesterday afternoon, maintenance contractors from the National Parks Board were clearing a lorry-load of branches from other trees that were damaged in the storm.

Residents told ST they were worried the trees in the estate were not being maintained regularly.

A man in his 40s, who declined to be named, said the trees appeared to have been neglected.

He said: "The branches grow all over the place, but no one seems to have done anything about them. It's only now that I see maintenance workers pruning some of the damaged trees."

Another resident, who also wanted anonymity, said she had not seen such strong winds since moving into the area eight years ago.

A spokesman for the Meteorological Service Singapore told ST there were thundery showers over many areas in Singapore from 3pm to 6pm on Sunday.

"The wind station closest to the Punggol area is in Seletar, which recorded a maximum wind speed of 35.2kmh," he said.