by Elena Chong
THE family of a project manager who died after an uprooted rain
tree fell onto his car is not claiming compensation from National
Parks Board (NParks) after all.
Ms Jovina Chua, 40, the elder sister of Mr Chua Loong Wai, 31,
said this when interviewed by the media during an inquest into her
brother's death last July.
Ms Chua, also a project manager, said it had been half a year,
and the family had 'closed the chapter'. She said they did not want
to 'create sadness' for everybody, adding that they were slowly
moving on in life.
The inquiry heard that Mr Chua was driving his Honda Freed along
Yio Chu Kang Road towards Upper Thomson on July 20, 2010 when the
roof was crushed by the falling 15m-tall tree during a heavy
downpour. The road was not passable to traffic as the tree lay
across both lanes.
Mr Chua was found slumped in the driver's seat and civil defence
officers took 20 minutes to extricate him. He died from cardiac
contusions from a broken breastbone. In his findings, State Coroner
Victor Yeo said evidence showed that the tree had been regularly
inspected, maintained and pruned.
This was a 'most unfortunate' accident where the adverse weather
conditions had resulted in the uprooting of the tree, he said. 'The
evidence at this inquiry does not suggest that this ill-fated
accidental death could have been reasonably foreseen or prevented
for that matter,' he added.