Tanjong Pagar crash: Woman with severe burns conscious, out of ICU
The woman who dashed into the fiery car wreck in Tanjong Pagar, in an attempt to save her boyfriend and their four friends, is out of intensive care, said Singapore General Hospital (SGH) yesterday.
Ms Raybe Oh Siew Huey, 26, is currently in a high dependency ward and is stable and conscious, the hospital added.
The former Singapore Airlines air stewardess sustained burns on 80 per cent of her body and had been fighting for her life since the accident on Feb 13, the second day of Chinese New Year.
Ms Oh's boyfriend, Mr Jonathan Long, 29, was driving the white BMW M4 coupe at around 5.40am when it crashed into a shophouse at 37 Tanjong Pagar Road.
Footage of the accident showed the car bursting into a giant ball of flames seconds after the crash. It also showed Ms Oh running towards the inferno.
Ms Oh was conscious when an ambulance rushed her to SGH, but Mr Long, along with his four passengers - Mr Eugene Yap, 29; Mr Elvin Tan Yong Hao, 28; Mr Wilson Teo Qi Xiang, 26; and Mr Gary Wong Hong Chieh, 29 - were pronounced dead at the scene.
The Straits Times reported that Mr Long and Ms Oh had applied for a Housing Board flat recently.
Mr Edwin Tan, 54, an events organiser, told The New Paper he had hired Ms Oh, who was formerly a getai singer, to perform in a show at a clan association event in 2015.
He said of the accident: "You can tell that she loves her boyfriend a lot. She tried to save him without thinking twice about her own safety. I was so touched when I heard that."
Born in Malaysia, Ms Oh came to Singapore at 16 to study at a polytechnic. While doing so, she performed in getai shows to earn money for her school fees to ease her father's financial burden.
Mr Long's father spoke to Chinese-language newspaper Shin Min Daily News two days after the accident and said his son and Ms Oh had been together for many years. They were planning to get married and buy a home together.
The father, 62, who wanted to be known only as Mr Long, said he treated Ms Oh like his own daughter, and added: "I hope she will be safe. She is a very good girl, and we will do our best to take care of her." - NADINE CHUA
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