SINGAPORE - On Feb 13, 2021, a BMW crashed into a shophouse in Tanjong Pagar around 5.40am and burst into flames. All five men in the car were killed.
They were Mr Jonathan Long Junwei, 29; Mr Eugene Yap Zheng Min, 29; Mr Elvin Tan Yong Hao, 28; Mr Teo Qi Xiang, 26; and Mr Gary Wong Hong Chieh, 29.
On Aug 24, State Coroner Adam Nakhoda found their deaths to be a traffic-related misadventure.
He said the "sad and tragic" event serves to remind other motorists not to operate vehicles when they are under the influence of alcohol.
Tanjong Pagar crash ruled a misadventure: Families of victims avoid area as wounds still raw
It has been 18 months since five young men were killed in a fiery car crash in Tanjong Pagar last year, but the emotions are still raw for the families who have been left behind.
For Ms Michelle Wong, 34, wounds are reopened whenever she reads stories about the accident that killed her brother, Mr Gary Wong Hong Chieh, 29, and the lack of empathy from some netizens only rubs salt into these wounds.
It is a similar story for the families of Mr Wilson Teo Qi Xiang, 26; Mr Elvin Tan Yong Hao, 28; and Mr Eugene Yap Zheng Min, 29, who were passengers in a BMW M4 coupe that ploughed into the pillar of a shophouse and burst into flames at around 5.40am on Feb 13 last year.
Tanjong Pagar crash: Deaths of 5 men in burning car ruled as traffic-related misadventure
Five men were killed when a white BMW M4 burst into flames after it crashed in Tanjong Pagar on Feb 13 last year and State Coroner Adam Nakhoda has found their deaths to be a traffic-related misadventure.
Delivering his findings on Wednesday (Aug 24) in an inquiry into the men's deaths, he said the sad and tragic event involved the deaths of five men who were in the prime of their lives.
State Coroner Nakhoda added that this case serves to remind other motorists not to operate vehicles when they are under the influence of alcohol.
Driver busted alcohol limit, was speeding at 148kmh before Tanjong Pagar crash: Coroner's inquiry
The coroner's inquiry into the deaths of five men who were in a fiery car crash in Tanjong Pagar on Feb 13 last year heard that the white BMW M4 had hit speeds of up to 181kmh.
The speed limit for the stretch along Tanjong Pagar Road is 50kmh, Senior Staff Sergeant Muhammad Firdaus Suleiman testified on Thursday (June 9) before State Coroner Adam Nakhoda.
The Traffic Police investigator added that 29-year-old Jonathan Long Junwei was the driver when the accident occurred. He clocked speeds of up to 148kmh while driving around the Tanjong Pagar area.
Tanjong Pagar crash: Driver's fiancee Raybe Oh struggles to cope with online vitriol
Sixteen months after the horrific crash, Ms Raybe Oh is still struggling to cope with the loss of her fiance and what seems to be an endless cycle of surgical operations to treat her burns.
But it appears that some strangers feel the need to intensify her torment.
Ms Oh, 28, has had to fight back tears when reading netizens' comments about the car accident in Tanjong Pagar last February, which killed her fiance and four of their friends.
Woman badly burnt in Tanjong Pagar crash has endured 32 operations, survived pneumonia
For four long months, Ms Raybe Oh Siew Huey fought for her life while warded in Singapore General Hospital (SGH) after suffering burns so severe she could not breathe on her own.
At one point, the 26-year-old was stricken with life-threatening pneumonia and had to be intubated, leaving her unable to talk, drink or eat for six days while in the intensive care unit (ICU).
"When I was in the ICU, I really thought that I should just die, because it was too painful," said the former air stewardess and getai singer.
Tanjong Pagar crash: Raybe Oh needs multiple operations next year but says she's 'getting a lot better'
She will be spending a significant amount of time in hospital next year with multiple reconstructive surgical operations scheduled, but Ms Raybe Oh Siew Huey, 26, appears to be in good spirits.
Speaking to The Straits Times on Friday (Nov 26), Ms Oh said: "I still have to go through a few reconstructive surgical operations in the following year. Recovery is slow but I'm getting a lot better."
Ms Oh suffered severe burns to about 80 per cent of her body earlier this year while trying to rescue her fiance, Mr Jonathan Long, 29, and four friends, from a burning car after it crashed into a shophouse in Tanjong Pagar.
Tanjong Pagar crash: Video shows girlfriend of driver running to burning car
Video footage has emerged showing the moment a young woman ran towards a burning car in Tanjong Pagar Road to save her fiance and his four friends trapped inside.
In the footage obtained by The Straits Times, the white BMW M4 coupe is seen skidding for two seconds at around 5.40am last Saturday (Feb 13), the second day of the Chinese New Year.
It then spins out of control before slamming into a shophouse further away.
‘She did what she did for love’: Woman in ICU tried to save boyfriend from burning car in Tanjong Pagar crash
Seeing her boyfriend and friends trapped in the burning car, Ms Raybe Oh Siew Huey, 26, rushed forward to try and save them.
But in doing so, she suffered severe burns on about 80 per cent of her body, and is now fighting for her life in the hospital.
Her boyfriend, Mr Jonathan Long, 29, was driving the BMW that slammed into a Tanjong Pagar shophouse early Saturday morning (Feb 13).
5 killed in Tanjong Pagar crash: 29-year-old driver believed to have sped before crashing into shophouse
Five people have died and one was taken to Singapore General Hospital (SGH) after a car slammed into the front of a shophouse on Saturday (Feb 13) morning.
A police spokesman said that at 5.40am, they were alerted to an accident involving a car along Tanjong Pagar Road.
Preliminary investigations revealed the car was driven by a 29-year-old man with four male passengers, aged 26 to 29.
5 killed in Tanjong Pagar car crash: What happened
Five people, killed in a pre-dawn crash along Tanjong Pagar Road, were identified by their next-of-kin at about 10.30am on Saturday (Feb 13), about five hours after the accident.
This is a timeline of the events which took place early on Feb 13.
