His shock turns to relief
Reader alerts TNP after he spots 'crushed taxi'
Mr Stephen Tan, 56, a taxi driver, was driving a customer to the Singapore Zoo last Tuesday when they witnessed the aftermath of a crash between two large lorries along the Seletar Expressway (SLE).
As they were driving past the scene, Mr Tan thought the yellow truck-mounted crash cushion behind the white roadworks lorry was a CityCab taxi.
A blue Malaysian-registered lorry had slammed into it, giving some motorists the impression people had died in the yellow "taxi".
A crash cushion, also known as an impact attenuator, is a device intended to reduce damage to a structure or vehicle after a motor vehicle collision.
Mr Tan told The New Paper: "We were so shocked when we saw it and were convinced that the taxi driver had died."
He has been reading TNP since it launched in 1988 and has saved the paper's hotline number in his phone.
"The first thing that came to my mind when I saw the accident was to call the hotline, as it is convenient for me and I know that TNP responds quickly to tip-offs," he said.
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It was Mr Tan's first time calling the TNP hotline.
The story about the accident was published last Wednesday.
When Mr Tan realised it was not a taxi, he felt very bad for contacting us with the wrong information.
He laughed and said: "After I read the story, I told myself not to get too excited when I see something and to check twice before making the call."
Another reader, retiree Yeow Yew Hock, 65, had called the TNP hotline to alert us about a fire at Bedok South Road.
He was watching television in his living room in the opposite block with his wife when they smelt smoke.
Mr Yeow told TNP: "I opened my front door and could see a lot of black smoke coming out of the victim's 12th storey window. I wanted to call the ambulance but it was already there."
He called the TNP hotline about the fire.
The story was also published last Wednesday.
Mr Yeow said he learnt a lot from reading the article.
He said: "I didn't know that the fire was caused by an electrical appliance. But luckily, the victim and his neighbours are safe."
A first-time TNP hotline caller and monthly subscriber, he said he had been reading the newspaper every day since its launch, and also loves the sports section.
For sharing these stories, each hotline caller will receive a $100 Texas Chicken voucher. We value and appreciate your calls and e-mails, so keep them coming. You can call us at 1800-733-4455, SMS or MMS 9477-8899 or e-mail us at tnp@sph.com.sg
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