National hurdler dies after bike mishap
National hurdler Zaki Sapari, junior record holder of the 400m hurdles, died after a motorcycle accident last night.
The accident occurred along Mandai Road towards Yishun at about 8pm.
The 21-year-old national serviceman (above) had just booked out of his army camp and was riding his motorcycle when the accident took place.
A police spokesman said that upon arrival, they established there was an accident involving a lorry and a motorcycle.
The motorcyclist was pronounced dead by paramedics at the scene. Investigations are ongoing.
The news of Zaki's passing shocked members of the athletics fraternity.
Sprinter Amirudin Jamal, who has known Zaki since 2011, told The New Paper he had heard about the accident from other athletes competing in the Asian Indoor Championships in Hangzhou, China.
Said Amir: "Zaki and I didn't train together, but we were quite close.
BIG DREAMS
"He was a very nice guy, down-to-earth, and with big dreams.
"He wanted very much to race in front of the home crowd at next year's South-east Asia (SEA) Games."
Zaki, who holds the 400m hurdles junior record of 53.51 seconds, qualified for last year's SEA Games in Myanmar, but had to withdraw at the 11th hour because of national service commitments.
His wake is at 4pm today at Block 821, Woodlands Street 82.
Get The New Paper on your phone with the free TNP app. Download from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store now
