THOMSON ROAD'S CUT-THROAT BRIDGE
I could see BLOOD GUSHING from his throat
Stunned girlfriend could only sit and cry
By Ng Hui Hui
November 21, 2007
APART from a drizzle, last Sunday was like any other day as Mr Ng
Beng Choon took his girlfriend on his motorcycle to her Toa Payoh
home.
Then out of the blue, a freak accident happened - and his life may
never be the same again.
Just as Mr Ng's 180cc motorbike was nearing Thomson Medical Centre
at Thomson Road, he saw a lightning conductor strip swing loose
from the overhead bridge.
He tried to brake but, the next thing he knew, both he and his
girlfriend were thrown off the motorbike.
His neck was caught in the strip.
The incident happened around 5pm.
It was drizzling and the couple were riding at about 40kmh,
recalled Mr Ng's girlfriend, Miss Carol Hwee.
Mr Ng, 28, is now in Tan Tock Seng Hospital's intensive care
unit.
VOICE BOX SHATTERED
His voice box was shattered, said Miss Hwee, 20, who suffered
multiple abrasions in the fall.
She now fears that her chef boyfriend may never talk again.
Ms Hwee at Mr Ng's bedside.
Miss Hwee told The New Paper that Mr Ng emerged from the operating
theatre at 1am yesterday after reconstruction surgery on his voice
box.
Doctors are 'keeping their fingers crossed that he will get his
voice back', she said. 'It all depends on how well it heals.'
Mr Ng, who was breathing through a tube inserted into his throat,
was conscious when The New Paper visited him yesterday.
The doctors had to create a tracheostomy - an opening at the base
of the throat - to help him breathe as his windpipe was also
injured.
Mr Ng, the only child of divorced parents, could read the
newspapers and respond to people by shaking or nodding his
head.
Initially, the couple communicated by typing messages on their
handphones, but they stopped after being told they were not allowed
to use handphones in the ICU.
NOTES
They now communicate by writing on pieces of paper provided by the
nurse.
'The first thing he wrote to me was to tell me he was sorry for
making me worried,' said Miss Hwee.
'I had been crying all the time since the accident and he said he
was very worried about me when he was being wheeled into the
operating theatre.'
-- Pictures: SHIN MIN DAILY NEWS
The terror of the accident is still fresh in her mind. At first,
she was so shaken that she froze in shock.
She recalled: 'I was so shocked to see my boyfriend's throat slit
open and blood gushing out that I could only sit on the road and
cry for help.'
It was only when other motorists stopped to help that she regained
her composure and called 995, she said.
Then, she ran into Thomson Medical Centre which was just nearby to
ask for help.
Two nurses accompanied her to the scene. They were followed soon
after by a doctor.
By then, an ambulance had also arrived.
Miss Hwee said Mr Ng was worried about the hospital bills and his
job.
She said he takes home less than $2,000 a month. He lives with his
80-year-old grandmother and an aunt in a three-room HDB flat.
'He has to support his grandmother, so we don't know if he can cope
with the hospital bills,' she said.
They also fear the accident might cause him to lose his job.
'We are worried that it will affect his taste buds which are
crucial in his job as a cook,' she said.
Miss Hwee said Mr Ng has been trying to be strong so as not to
worry her.
'But I feel the pain for him because I know that when he's alone at
night in the ward, he must be imagining things and possibly
thinking of the worst,' she said.
She said Mr Ng had obtained his Class 2B licence in February this
year.
Her parents and two younger brothers, who had grown attached to Mr
Ng during their courtship, had discouraged him against
riding.
'But boys will be boys. He went ahead because he had a passion for
riding,' she said.
Since the accident, Miss Hwee has not returned to the scene as she
doesn't want to be reminded of what happened.
'My parents told me that when they passed by the place around 7pm
that day, it appeared to have been fixed,' she said.
FORCE OF
NATURE
Land Transport Authority (LTA) spokesman Suhana Kharudin said the
overhead pedestrian bridge was struck by lightning late Sunday
afternoon, 'causing the lightning conductor to be dislodged and a
section of the conductor to dangle onto the carriageway'.
'When alerted, LTA immediately sent its staff to repair the
lightning conductor,' she said.
Miss Suhana added that all overhead pedestrian bridges have
lightning protection systems which are 'inspected on a yearly
basis'.
The Traffic Police is investigating the incident.
Ms Hwee said that she and Mr Ng often go to karaoke chains to
sing.
But they might not be able to do that anymore.
'I would give anything to hear his voice again. But even if I
don't, I will not leave him because of this,' she said.