SMRT bus mowed down school boy at traffic junction in Woodlands
Posted by temasektimes on April 9, 2012
Barely more than a week has passed since the tragic accident at Sengkang in which a SBS Transit bus driven by a PRC national ran over a 66 year old woman killing her on the spot, another accident has occurred again involving a bus.
[Source: #Chloe]
A SMRT bus mowed down a boy from a neighborhood primary school as he was crossing a road junction in Woodlands this afternoon.
According to eye-witnesses, the bus was making a left turn at the junction when it knocked the boy down. It is not known if the ‘green man’ was flashing at that time.
An ambulance arrived minutes later and the boy has been sent to the hospital. The nationality of the driver is not certain at this moment in time.
As of now, there are no reports on the accident by the mainstream media yet.
LATEST UPDATE:
The boy has been admitted to KK Women and Children’s Hospital and was diagnosed to have a fracture in his right ankle as a result of the accident. The bus driver has been suspended by SMRT.
Read more here
THE TEMASEK TIMES 
C.H. Tan said
Tax payer”s Billion of dollars spent on all this type of DRIVER???????????????????????
YL said
Why should you automatically assume that it’s the driver’s fault?
Nick said
Because he operates the bus. Green or red man light, he still need to check for the pendastrian.
lol said
Drivers have to keep a lookout for anyone crossing the road regardless or whether the pedestrian is right or wrong.
MoonDog said
It’s the law. Whenever a vehicle hit any person, driver is always at fault. full stop!
Neville said
This is a traffic junction for goodness sake.
If the bus driver was not speeding, there shouldn’t be any reason for an accident to occur, especially if the bus was stopped at the traffic junction and the light just changed green in his favour.
komeng said
as a driver whom drive a big vehicle especially bus,i learn about that’s a lot of blind spot we need to look out,not matter pedestrian nor small motorist,we need to give way,that is what i learn,in my point of view the driver is wrong,return to basic knowledge and he can find the answer,i used to drive a big vehicle,that what i alway check my blind spot,you never know what will appeal at side view,better late than sorry
Hope The Boy Is Fine said
Dear Komeng, you really need to brush up your English. In addition, I don’t see why the author of this article needed to describe the school as a “neighbourhood” primary school. Does that carry any news value?
komeng said
DEAR YL
well spoken,but do u know that when u r in front of superior,the only answer u get is failure to observance of the law and carelessness
Darren said
Ya right. Don’t jump into conclusion without seeing the whole event. This bus doesn’t have CCTV, so its difficult to say who’s at fault, although he’s liable under the one-sided local road rules. Many pedestrians simply don’t care or don’t even know where to look when crossing roads here…
james said
nicely said YL..
jing601 said
Billion dollar spent on driver?
Derp said
Guess the race game again.
Greg Peris said
guys don’t play the race game, its dangerous, just look at malaysia, we once lived in harmony but the race game has split us apart. Be fair do not just blame the driver. Pedestrains can sometimes be like stray cows.
DY said
will the reporter smart dnt reports the case is a china or who is … later u all , many singaporean will angry ..It SMRT BUS again .. ……………. again.. later ..
Jay said
I have no idea what the fuck you are trying to say.
aud said
hahahahahahah
LB said
“DY” translates to “I don’t have a clue” in Mars lingo . . . .
Sharina said
Guess we all do have rights to know the nationality of the driver.. whose side ur on..
Awesome said
You must be from china.. Your english is very poor..
reeeyou said
LOL burn.
reeeyou said
LOL. Burn.
traveltalessg said
I’m assuming that he’s trying to say the writer of the article should leave nationalities out of news articles. An “Us vs. Them” herd mentality has never helped any nation progress, and last I checked, xenophobia is generally frowned upon by the rest of the world.
Don’t believe me when I say such things breed “Us vs. Them” mentality? Just check out Sharina’s comment.
I’m sorry ma’am/sir, I’m on the side of humanity; and whether Singaporean, Chinese, Malaysian, Indonesian, etc. this is indeed a very tragic accident. Who cares what the driver’s nationality is? Instead of having a witch hunt, we should be mourning for a tragic loss.
And people tell me I should check out the Temasek Times for a “different” perspective…
I’m sorry, but I can not in good mind accept facts from such a slanted and hate-mongering source.
traveltalessg said
I’m assuming what he’s trying to say is that the writer of this article should avoid publishing nationalities for fear of breeding an “Us vs. Them” herd mentality among Singaporeans. Besides, last I checked, xenophobia is generally frowned upon by the rest of the world.
Don’t believe me when I say such actions breed these mentalities? Just look at Sharina’s comment. “Whose side are you on? Are you with us or with them?”
Sorry ma’am/sir, I’m on the side of humanity. No matter Chinese, Singaporean, Malaysian, Indonesian, American, etc. this is a very tragic accident. Instead of having a witch hunt, we should be mourning for a terrible loss.
And they told me I should read Temasek Times for a “different” perspective…
I can not in good mind take this blog seriously when it uses hate-mongering techniques and has such a heavy slant.
syaf said
Well said. I cannot agree more. I did find the bit about the unknown nationality, completely unnecessary.
What if the boy that was run down is not Singaporean and also happens to be the same race/nationality as the driver?
It doesnt matter to me. With that note, I hope the boy was not injured too badly. Thst’s more important than finding out the nationality of the driver.
Concernedaboutourfuture said
Well said. What does it matter what race you belong to? Are you still not human? So what? Just because you come from China or Malaysia or wherever, you have to be treated differently. While the article was informative, I found that the bit about his nationality AND comparing it to the incident at Sengkang, where the driver was a PRC completely and totally unnecessary.
Who is to say that a Singaporean driver cannot and have not committed such an offense before? It’s unfair to imply that only the FT are capable of such acts.
I’m glad the boy injured is mostly in one piece, apart from that fracture but I hope that this is what people would focus on. How the incident happen and how and what we (along with the drivers) do to make sure this never happens again and NOT what nationality the man is.
Plow said
in general smart bus driver are more agressive…
Concernedaboutourfuture said
and your proof of evidence can be seen in? if you can provide solid evidence in your statement, I would believe you. But you seem to be generalizing.
Ng Pian Ying said
The way SMRT going about managing the transport system is subject to scrutiny. Can the Authorities involved show more concern regarding this organization’s management of the transport system before matters gets worst and more accident happen..
Azreen Alyssa Hawks said
I just wonder…. SBS is very picky & selective when it comes to new hires and yet this is what we get???
Seriously…. they should review their criteria in hiring New Hires & review the performance of their existing staff accordingly…
Concernedaboutourfuture said
In this day and age, how picky can SBS choose to be? Are Singaporeans signing up for the job? Not a lot. Do they have to resort to foreign talent? Yes they do. and they have to go through test and training. You can set the rules, set the boundaries but isn’t it human nature for people to break them? Yes it’s wrong but tell me, have you not broken a rule before?
“You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view – until you climb into his skin and walk around in it.” Try to understand this from the other party’s point of view.
Peter Lim Tung Luck said
I think with all these late incidents by SMRT buses, the drivers (especially from China) must be sent for re-training and to observe traffic rules. Pedestrain crossings with green man and green traffic light does not give the driver right of way if there are people using the pedestrain crossing. This is Singapore and not China where the drivers do not observe ZEBRA road crossings. Something has to be done by the bus companies before more serious or even deaths at junctions crossing.
DIckface said
I like how your xenophobic editors made sure to add in that little bit about being unsure of the nationality of the driver, sensationalize shit more and get more cultural/racial/national unrest and dissent imo. You’re doing an amazing job (along with your readers) of making Singapore into a country rife with xenophobia.
Ambrose Frøg Lim said
Lol you only know how to use the word xenophobic, excerebrose nincompoop.
rei said
Chinaman defence.
zinc said
Lol, this is TT <== what's this face? So don't expect much from it.
seX pisToLs said
It seems public transports is getting worse to worst…
Concernedaboutourfuture said
Are you willing to step in to try and change it for the better. I highly doubt so.
seX pisToLs said
Nah, unless I am been paid highly to do that kind of jobs 🙂
maybe, more than S$3 million per year? 😛
Den said
That is the so-call foreign talents that the government is bringing in mah…..to kill all Singaporeans so they can dominate. To hell with foreign talents especially PRCs
notsoanon said
‘Nationality of the driver is not certain at this moment in time?’ Why must this be mentioned? Secondly, Dy, what in the world are you talking about?
Ada said
our world class transport system for you!!
Mummyazizi said
Why????? This is so so sad!!!!!!! Please do something about this!!!!!
Marcus said
poor boy, hope he is not badly hurt 😦
hunter said
Why e hell SMRT LOVE hire those stupid & reckless CHINA drivers? They simply have no concern abt those passengers on board and ppl on e street.
james said
why do you think it’s PRC driver??? it’s not fair to jump to conclusion this fast isn’t it?
Concernedaboutourfuture said
What makes you think its a FT? If it was a Singaporean, what would your reaction be? You think Singaporean drivers are any better? Open your eyes a little and most reckless drivers you see on the road are locals so DON’T be too quick to judge, when you have no substantial evidence, it’ll only make you look more the fool.
And in regards to your comment about “Why e hell SMRT LOVE hire those stupid & reckless CHINA drivers?” I can only pose one question to you. Why are you not signing up? If you think SMRT just loves to hire the China drivers, it’s because Singaporeans like YOU are not signing up. so Don’t judge SMRT as well. If you read the papers, there was an article saying that the reason they are bringing in more FT is because we Singaporeans are not willing to work as a bus driver.
Jones said
Seems more worried about the nationality rather than worry about the kid!!!
james said
precisely! i dun know why did those ppl keep saying the nationality
zinc said
Bring more hate to the ppl. Lol.
alan huang said
the best way to STOP SMRT driver create all these careless mistake, should fine 10K, revoke license plus jail 6 month.
Seletar said
when crossing the road, I don’t use the pedestrian crossing because it is too dangerous. I encountered a few times when the green man was on my side, I started to cross half way only to find the car sped pass by me. I told my children never to use pedestrian crossing. Cross the road when you see no cars coming, simple as that.
Are You Kidding? said
Bad teaching example to your kids. They may end up jaywalking, costing their own life and that of other road users. Irresponsible parent you are!
God bless your kids. said
please don’t be a parent.
Bala said
Our goverment is not worried abt singaporean’s safety.They are willing to sacrifice our lives for the sake of foreign nationality.
What’s the point of having one of the best army in asia when there are soo many foreign killer in singapore hired by our own government.
Concernedaboutourfuture said
I find your comment really thoughtless and insensitive. What makes you think the government is not worried about Singaporean’s safety? Is this an assumption or based on facts? Show me the statistics and evidence, Did you hear it from someone within the ministry? Like the government is not made up of people, people who have mothers, fathers, siblings, kids, grandkids living around you.
‘They are willing to sacrifice our lives for the sake of foreign nationality’ so it’s their fault that they are bringing in foreign nationals into the country. Sure… I just bet Singaporeans are jumping up and down to take jobs like being a cleaner or a bus driver.
For goodness sake, THINK before you want to say something as stupid as this. I may be young but I’m not as blind.
Jason said
Is there anything to do with RACE???
shigu said
I do not think you know the meaning of “mowed down”. And to write in such a sensationalistic style… especially when there’s no need to refer to nationality. Seriously Temasek Times are you trying to stir shit?
CY said
Well said! The photo clearly shows the SMRT bus making a left turn though. However, the bus did not end up on the pedestrian crossing the boy was probably using (the one on the right). The question now is, did the boy dash out? Also was he alone? Before anyone bashes the driver has anyone bothered to find out what the boy was doing then?
james said
YES! u are right to point out this. At times, i think TT is just trying to create an anti-govt sentiment
rainbow said
Temasek Review is going all out to nail down the PRC. Didn’t Temasek knows there are other foreign workers such as Filipino and Indian Nationals are also giving troubles to our society?
Noob said
Wtf is DY talking? It’s not even a properly constructed sentence… much less Singlish?
Sounds like a PRC alright… “it SMRT BUS again… again.. later..” WTF talking you eh ginnah?
LS said
SMRT should stop recruiting foreigners . These foreigners are simply not well trained and not observing the traffic rules & regulations… Human life concerned and they are treating it lightly!!!
Anon said
Yea, if you can teach the kids to not rely on traffic signals alone! Always finding other people to blame. Traffic signals are important in controlling the flow of traffic but they are not a replacement for road safety. Whether driving or being a pedestrian, I always have my eyes on the road looking for vehicles and obstacles before moving into a spot.
First lesson I learnt on road safety: Look right, look left, look right again – then cross.
With the “green man” signal, I modified the lesson. “Wait for green man, look right, cross half, look left, cross remaining half.”
But NOT “Wait for green man, close your eyes and walk straight” – seems like everyone else is teaching their kids to do this nowadays to get hit by a car or bus and claim money (whether compensation or insurance)!
sg said
i think you mean to say that the reporter should not have included the statement “The nationality of the driver is not certain at this moment in time”, because it implies that the race/nationality of the driver is an important consideration for his/her future punishment and/or condemnation?
that I agree with.
Jas said
Before determining whose fault it is, to prevent from such cases from happening again, I guess Bus Driver training program needs to be reviewed. Now there are more and more drivers, speeding on the road with a bus full of passengers. From my own experience, they can even travel up to 80-90km/h in a neighbourhood area which is scary. What’s the point of holding a driving license when you don’t obey the rules of the country?
worldclass said
Diam diam and hail World class transport lah
http://worldclasstransport.blogspot.com.au/
Click to access white%20paper.pdf
deathg0d said
its simple reason. because all the employers in singapore finds that singaporeans are picky and mostly demanding in pay, so they hired FT because they are cheap and some comes even with very high educations. imagine sbs thinks hiring an uni grad from china to drive their buses makes their public image better.
however it back fired because all these FT dont care. the actual facts are, it is not that singaporean workers are picky and demanding in pay, but instead we are being exploited by employers to do cheap labours. they expect to pay little and the workers to cover multiple roles.
the bottom line is, you pay peanuts, you get monkeys.
shoe said
Well said.
Mikey said
All the cheapo PRC drivers hired by who?
Send them all over to Sunshine bread leh…
lower chance of them killing Singaporeans over there..
Mywish said
Better not or you will end up bread poisoning. Lol
hat said
what’s the point of this article? I mean I question what the writer is trying to imply. why should the nationality of the driver be brought in? why can’t people just see it as an accident involving a bus and a boy.
Shac said
Because, back in the days when bus drivers are handled by locals and Malaysians, we seldom have this kind of accidents on a weekly basis. Times were good then in the 70s, you can smoke and eat in the bus, and in the 80s, the bus got bigger and spacier and the bus drivers know his routes well, observed safety rules and courteous.
I love going for bus rides when I was younger but lately, not anymore. The bus jerks, driver drives too slow, can’t understand English (many times passengers have to be the translator between and Caucasian tourist and a foreign driver, have you notice that?) It’s like Chicken and Duck talk and usually when the locals don’t interfere – the lost tourist ended up getting further lost.
Now – we talk about globalization – at what cost? At the cost of irritating the public, jobs being overtaken by foreigners, locals being bullied and given sarcastic remarks and now the lives of Singaporeans in accidents. So in a way, wanting to know what is the nationality will serves a little justice to us – if it’s Singaporean – then some of us are proven wrong; if it’s a foreigner – then we can add him to the statistics. And I am sure we will be doing this until 2016.
You can take a foreigner out of his country but you cannot take his country-culture out of him.
Arjit Pandey said
Actually I dont think we can blame the driver entirely as we should also look at the long and tiring working hours they experience everyday. So i feel that there really needs to be some major change in the whole Bus System that ensures they get their most deserved rest as well.
james4424 said
had a few more passengers demanded action from the driver, would he still feign ignorance? while we are fast to condemn such uncivil behaviour, we should also ask ourselves why do we allow this to happen knowing full well it is wrong. i wonder had Donny not been told off by the freeloader, will he voice out on this?
binni92BN said
Although I’m a Singaporean but reading all these comments make me feel ashamed. Why the stereotype and generalization of PRCs because of just a few? Technically, even if Singapore + Malaysia + Thailand together, it’s not even half the size of China. So what position are we in to assume all the PRCs are the same. If we wanna put it that way, then we can’t blame the Caucasians for stereotyping Asians as having small eyes and flat noses, it works the same way.
Not to hire foreign workers? Then how many Singaporeans are willing to take up those jobs? Don’t forget, if not for these foreign workers, Singapore won’t be what it is today.
Instead of looking into the issue (eg. lack of training etc), digging into the nationality? Gosh.
P.S: It will really be a joke IF the outcome of the nationality is a Singaporean.
rei said
A quotr from above ‘pay peanuts, get monkeys’. Singapore, a country with one of the highest GDP, just isn’t paying the locals enough to survive. Wage increment vs.inflation. Mere 0.7% difference. Use that with reference to your payroll, you get how much you are richer every year. Bring in financial instruments and maybe just maybe you can be average.
zinc said
Lol.
CY said
Well said!
shoe said
SMRT again, if their lousy train service is not enough. SMRT please do something about this.
tangerine1234 said
I hope the boy is ok & not seriously hurt so he can still walk & run under the sun. If anything bad happen to him it will be a nation lost. He can serve in NS ( the Govt felt that Singapore do not have enough boys for NS & that’s the reason for accepting New Citizen & PR) & in future helps build & mould the nation ( I hope he’s a singaporean).
james4424 said
may the boy get well soon. it is not yet determined whose fault it is, driver or boy. it is not yet known the nationality of the driver. but nonetheless, public sentiments, justified or not, serves as an indicator of our disapproval of government/corporate policies of excessive outsourcing. also, are there regulation on the working hours of bus drivers？cost cutting and profit making should not come at the expense of safety of our fellow road users.
Ken Lee said
we have “reflect and repent” again!!!!!
Ken Lee said
we have “reflect and repent” again!!!!! they are talent!!!!!! we have to thanks them to kill more and to reduce the employment rates for us!!! and thanks to PAP GOV again !!!!!!
last but not all we have to thanks DPM Tharman: Singapore will remain OPEN to ‘foreign talents’ ! DPM Tharman: Singapore needs to ‘engage’ with India more!! so after the PRC driver they will import more India Indian drivers!! ya we get to sit down and “reflect and repent” again, how many they are going to kill this time!
Shac said
At least Indian drivers know how to speak English, bro..
on the bus said
The vile and racist Temasek Times is more interested in the nationality of the driver than the health of the child
michael ahen said
I always saw some bus cant wait for slow car and try to overtake .
dragrex said
accidents occur. its not fair to always pin the blame on the driver. it’s not conclusive from this report who’s fault it is. yes, its true that its the drivers responsibility to always look out for pedestrians – however, accidents happen when people (especially kids) suddenly dash across the road with or without regard for the traffic signal. the driver will be punished in due course by the authorities, what we should focus on is how well the kid is recovering from the accident, and how such accidents can be prevented in future – or how the risk of such accidents happening can be reduced. Nothing good will come out of shifting the blame around – be it whether the driver is singaporean or a foreigner.
What's Next? said
Who we look for ? 2 words for ya: TUCK YEW!
rainbow said
It is a blind spot for the bus driver on his left hand side if the boy were to cross while the bus is making a left turn. There is no buffered distance given between where the white line and pedestrian crossing box, and the boy will be too short for the drive to see him. Did the boy raise his hand up while crossing?
Why LTA did not give a longer distance for the bus to stop before turning left so that driver can see in front clearly?
Sunny said
It’s weird that the article mentioned that the nationality of the driver is unknow. Does it really matter whether the bus driver is a Singaporean or not? Wat is it trying to proof?
Le me said
NOT SURE IF DRIVER PRC OR DRIVER NEVER SEE.
Ken said
First of all, why are there so many people jumping to the conclusion of the nationality of the driver? It’s already stated clearly that that fact is not known. As much as I’m into the issue of too much ‘foreign talent’ in S’pore, we still need to be rational. I also do not see the point of TT taking a quote from some random person’s speculative Facebook post about the possible nationality of the driver. It really seems like TT is just trying to sensationalize incidents and deliberately instill anti-govt, anti-foreign talent sentiments.
I believe TT mentioned about the nationality of the driver so that people won’t start speculating but like that’s going to stop anything! And what’s this about the kid being ‘mowed down’??? That’s making it sound way more serious than it appears. The kid eventually had a broken ankle, not dismembered, disfigured or had his guts sprewn all over the road. Geez…
I hope SMRT at least takes the responsibility to pay for any medical bills incurred or any other inconveniences that arose, provided it’s the driver’s fault. If it’s the kid’s fault, then they can offer that as goodwill.
Lastly, according to S’pore’s traffic laws, the pedestrian almost always wins. As a driver, I think that’s crap. There are tons of incidents where the pedestrians were at fault and the driver ends up being punished. There’s also a good chance the kid might have dashed out but nobody knows at this point.
My last point goes out to Seletar. You oughta be shot for teaching your kid(s) not to use the pedestrian crossing! Educate yourself properly before you start to educate your kid(s)! You don’t want to attend your kid’s funeral just because you were so irresponsible.
cheryl said
I feel that drivers who committed such accident shd nt be terminated frm their jobs.Temporarily suspended yes.Be it SBS or SMRT,are they trying to suspend the drivers frm the job for their own good by saying this person nt my co staff anymore.
RU YI Gee said
The main point at the junction of traffic light crossing for car driver is to slow down ,if there is someone is waiting to cross or someone is standing to cross.
The 2nd main point is to ensure safety rule as a driver to ensure the safety of others…it usually meant the big machine should give way to the little one.. A simple mindset.
Daryl said
Don’t just review the bus driver training system, must also review how the bus company’s management wanted their bus drivers to “drive”. I mean is the bus company set a strict time frame for their buses in a trip? Is there any demerit point if the bus driver cannot make it within the time frame in a single trip? (if so may be those bus drivers have no choice but just have to rush since the traffic conditions may be out of their control)? Do you have any other opinions in this “managment system”?
Hung said
Not all PRC drivers are bad; just as not all Singaporean drivers are good. I don’t think that a driver would be more reckless just because he’s not driving in his own country. A driver is reckless because it is in his nature to be reckless and inconsiderate. Nothing to do with nationality or race.
Once, I was on the bus when a madcap local guy (race irrelevant) was creating a ruckus and shouting at other passengers, the PRC driver handled the situation very professionally. He first gave the guy a warning and when he didn’t stop his unruly behaviour, the driver stopped the bus at the next bus-stop, firmly ushered the trouble-maker off the bus.
Let’s be rational and objective please; otherwise we’re just as bad (or least almost as bad) as the PRC student who called Singaporeans ‘dogs’.