Auxiliary police officer dies in Johor accident

Auxiliary police officer Wee Chui Li, 40, never missed a day of work, even if she was feeling unwell.

When the Malaysian woman did not show up at her workplace in Singapore on Thursday morning and did not respond to calls and text messages, her colleagues and friends got worried.

Her best friend, Ms Tee Choon Meng, 37, hurried back to Johor Baru at 7pm after her shift in Singapore ended.

In a telephone interview, Ms Tee told The New Paper on Sunday: "I searched for her in police stations and hospitals, but I could not find any information."

So she decided to extend her search to Facebook. It was then that she spotted her friend's motorcycle on a Facebook page that posts updates of accidents on Malaysian roads.

She rallied a group of five friends and family members to search for Ms Wee that night.

Auxiliary police officer Wee Chui Li. PHOTO: SHIN MIN DAILY NEWS

But it was only at 11am yesterday that Ms Tee's fears were confirmed.

Ms Wee's body was found nearly 54 hours after she fell into a drain on her way to work here.

Ms Wee was at the Taman Sri Tebrau road junction at about 6.40am on Thursday when another motorcycle hit her.

KILLED: A search and rescue team found Ms Wee's body on a ​Johor riverbank. PHOTO: FACEBOOK/INFO  KEMALANGAN & BENCA

The accident happened when she was about 30 minutes from the Woodlands Checkpoint.

The impact of the crash caused Ms Wee's motorcycle to skid and she fell into a drain, which was connected to Sungai Tebrau, reported Malaysian newspaper Sin Chew Daily.

The other motorcyclist, who was behind her, fell off the bike after the crash.

RAINING

Visibility was poor that morning as it was raining heavily.

Passers-by tried to help but Ms Wee was carried away by the strong currents very quickly, said witnesses.

Ms Tee, who has been friends with Ms Wee for 20 years, recounted their futile search.

They had rushed down to the scene at about 9pm and a police officer confirmed the accident because Ms Wee's identity card was found next to the motorcycle.

She said: "The rescue team would start searching only the next morning, so we wanted to find her on our own as fast as possible.

"Only one of us had a torchlight and the rest of us used the light from our mobile phones."

They found her helmet after walking for a few hours and searched until about 3am on Friday morning.

The Johor Fire and Rescue Department said it was informed of the incident only on Friday. A search and rescue team was sent to the scene.

The search was called off by 6.30pm on Friday and resumed again yesterday.

Johor Fire and Rescue Department public relations unit head Mohamad Riduan Akhyar told the New Straits Times Online the body of Ms Wee was found washed up on the riverbank, about 5km from the accident site.

Mr Riduan said the team had been searching for her along the monsoon drain and at the rubbish traps that led into Sungei Tebrau.

"The body of the victim has been handed over to the police for further action," said Mr Riduan.

Her body was taken to the Sultanah Aminah Hospital, reported Sin Chew Daily.

The Selangor native lived in Plentong, Johor Baru, about an hour from Singapore.

She had to report to work in Singapore by 9am every day.

Ms Wee, who was single, had worked in Singapore for 19 years.

Her elder brother and younger sister rushed to Johor Baru after hearing about the accident.

Ms Tee described her friend as a friendly and warm-hearted person.

She said: "We became close because she was living alone without her family.

"I was really hoping that she was still alive, or that someone had found her. "