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Yeo Ken How, holding a leafy plant, with friends in June. March Chua, who took this picture, said she told him many times not to drive. She passed by the accident site and was shocked to recognise the car. -- PHOTO: COURTESY OF MARCH CHUA
HE WAS 16, did not have a driving licence but liked to drive his older brother's car around.
Friends advised Yeo Ken How, a Secondary 4 student of Bedok South Secondary School, not to take the risk but he did not listen.
Yesterday afternoon, the first day of the one-week school break, he sneaked a drive in his brother's Suzuki Swift.
It would be his last.
And in a twist of fate, two schoolmates who had warned him several times not to drive chanced upon the crash site, immediately recognised the car and had their worst fears confirmed.
It was not clear where Ken How was headed, but around 1.30pm, he lost control of the blue Suzuki Swift along Bedok South Road and slammed into a tree.
The impact of the accident crushed the driver's side of the car, killing the boy instantly. He was alone in the car.
His body had to be extricated from the mangled wreckage by Singapore Civil Defence Force officers using hydraulic cutters.
The crash site was just 2km away from Ken How's home at Bedok North Street 1.
By chance, two of his close friends were on a bus to Parkway Parade at about 3pm when they passed the crash site.
They recognised the car, alighted immediately and received the news they dreaded.
One of them, March Chua, 16, broke down when police told her who the victim was.
Holding back tears, she said: 'I advised him not to drive the car because it's dangerous, but he wouldn't listen.'
She said she regarded Ken How as her confidant and added that she had seen him at the wheel of the car on a number of occasions over the past few months, ferrying friends around.
Secondary 2 student Quek Su Yin, 14, had also seen him driving around, and told him not to.
But, he added: 'He looked quite stable whenever I saw him drive.'
Ken How, who was two years away from being legally allowed to apply for a driving licence, was known to be fond of cars, often spending his time working on model kits.
His friends described him as a 'very bright boy' who would always be ready to help them when the need arose.
He was to sit for his O-level exams in just over a month's time.
The car belonged to his older brother, who is in Australia training to become a Singapore Airlines pilot.
When The Straits Times arrived at Ken How's home at about 4pm, his mother, Madam Yeo, was seen leaving the house.
She said that she had received a call a few hours earlier from someone informing her that her son had died.
'I thought it was a nuisance call, so I scolded the person and hung up,' she said.
Even when the police called her later, she initially refused to believe it, thinking it was someone else.
The news only hit home later.
In a quavering voice, she simply said: 'I didn't know he could drive.'
The housewife, believed to be in her 50s, said that she did not know Ken How had left the house as she had gone out early in the morning.
She then rushed off.
A neighbour told The Straits Times that she had seen Ken How walk past her flat, dressed in a dark T-shirt and shorts, at about 9am.
Bedok South Secondary School principal Krishnan Aravinthan said the school was saddened to learn about Ken How's death.
He said: 'The school is helping affected students and staff to cope with the incident.'
sujint@sph.com.sg
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Sigh....
I sympathise with his parents. They would certainly have stopped him had they known what he was up to.
I sympathise with his friends. They knew what he was doing, and they advised him to stop. He just doesn't want to listen to them.
I dunno about his brother.... perhaps the fella kapo-ed the keys while his older brother was away. Then again, since the kid drove the car around a few times, chances are that the brother allowed what he was doing. Oh well, we don't have all the facts....
Whatever the case, to all the heroes driving and riding around without a licence..... please take proper lessons. It's for your own good and for the good of other people.
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Originally posted by fudgester:
Sigh....
I sympathise with his parents. They would certainly have stopped him had they known what he was up to.
I sympathise with his friends. They knew what he was doing, and they advised him to stop. He just doesn't want to listen to them.
I dunno about his brother.... perhaps the fella kapo-ed the keys while his older brother was away. Then again, since the kid drove the car around a few times, chances are that the brother allowed what he was doing. Oh well, we don't have all the facts....
Whatever the case, to all the heroes driving and riding around without a licence..... please take proper lessons. It's for your own good and for the good of other people.
yup, theres a reason they come up wif these tests + lessons... dun drag innocent parties along wif u....
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No DL, really dont drive.... It's not funny at all....
many of my poly friends no DL also wanna drive.. I always reject them, i always say, you wanna risk, dont use the my car. No nego.... For me is always no... but my friend alwayys allow other friends with no DL to drive. But they are learning la...
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Originally posted by the Bear:
as much as it is tragic, i wonder...
he was told.. yet he refused to listen...
worse, his brother seemed to condone his actions...
this is a tragedy which was foreseeable and it came to being...
According to the report, his brother is a SIA pilot which is now in Australia for training. It was reported he start driving his brother's car the past few months but we do not know when his brother is posted abroad. Cannot say his brother condore his action as we do not have the whole picture.
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Originally posted by cairocks:
According to the report, his brother is a SIA pilot which is now in Australia for training. It was reported he start driving his brother's car the past few months but we do not know when his brother is posted abroad. Cannot say his brother condore his action as we do not have the whole picture.
yeah.. maybe.. just how long will they be abroad for training?
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If my brother told me not to touch his car under any circumstances , i will not touch his car under any circumstances. Respect the chain of command.
But well.. there are always those super rogue ones out there. N this is exactly what happens. ;p a lesson the boy learned after death.
So kids.. listen to ur older wiser siblings. They know a shit load more then u.
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Originally posted by fudgester:
Sigh....
I sympathise with his parents. They would certainly have stopped him had they known what he was up to.
I sympathise with his friends. They knew what he was doing, and they advised him to stop. He just doesn't want to listen to them.
I dunno about his brother.... perhaps the fella kapo-ed the keys while his older brother was away. Then again, since the kid drove the car around a few times, chances are that the brother allowed what he was doing. Oh well, we don't have all the facts....
Whatever the case, to all the heroes driving and riding around without a licence..... please take proper lessons. It's for your own good and for the good of other people.
I wouldn't be surprised if one of these daring and BRAVE heroes came up to you with this reply:"Aiyah,you old uncle lah.Worry too much already!We youngster now all very smart.We watch how the pros do it in real life,tv,Initial D and Daytona,we learn very quick.Cannot believe you got serve NS but still so hum ji.All my friends doing it,sibeh malu if I don't leh.Take lessons must waste money,learn myself can do it for free tio bo?"
That was what my nephew told me when I warned him not to think of driving car/riding bike without valid license.
It is unfortunate for such a promising youth to go this way but I'm glad to have chanced upon this news to share it with my nephew.
I can already guess his reply even though I have not told him about this tragedy.
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Originally posted by hisoka:
actually i wonder if we are attributing his losing control too much to his lack of license.
it's not like all who pass will have good control or driving skills. In fact most aren't good at least initially, they gain it with experience driving.
What you say is true but with a valid driving license,one can at least be assured that the driver has gone through formal lessons.Whether the driver remembers those lessons and adhere to them is another matter.Experience is very subjective.If a driver without any license has been driving around for 3 months in a very haphazard manner(Always speeding by at least 40km/H,not bothering to signal,tail gating at every chance,high beaming others without a care,doing an illegal U turn in the middle of a busy road,etc) without getting arrested,does that count as useful experience?Would you consider such a person as a qualified driver than?
We do not know the driving style of that poor boy so it's hard to determine if he has been driving in a safe manner.
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Originally posted by BangHong:
No DL, really dont drive.... It's not funny at all....
many of my poly friends no DL also wanna drive.. I always reject them, i always say, you wanna risk, dont use the my car. No nego.... For me is always no... but my friend alwayys allow other friends with no DL to drive. But they are learning la...
learner drivers are still not qualified drivers...sad case there but then I dont really pity the guy lor...at 16...he must know that what he was doing is illegal and most important of all...dangerous to himself and others...He chose to ignore the risks and he paid the price...the only consolation is that nobody else has to share the mistake with him.
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Originally posted by sexy girls:
Yeo Ken How, holding a leafy plant, with friends in June. March Chua, who took this picture, said she told him many times not to drive. She passed by the accident site and was shocked to recognise the car. -- PHOTO: COURTESY OF MARCH CHUA
HE WAS 16, did not have a driving licence but liked to drive his older brother's car around.
Friends advised Yeo Ken How, a Secondary 4 student of Bedok South Secondary School, not to take the risk but he did not listen.
Yesterday afternoon, the first day of the one-week school break, he sneaked a drive in his brother's Suzuki Swift.
It would be his last.
And in a twist of fate, two schoolmates who had warned him several times not to drive chanced upon the crash site, immediately recognised the car and had their worst fears confirmed.
It was not clear where Ken How was headed, but around 1.30pm, he lost control of the blue Suzuki Swift along Bedok South Road and slammed into a tree.
The impact of the accident crushed the driver's side of the car, killing the boy instantly. He was alone in the car.
His body had to be extricated from the mangled wreckage by Singapore Civil Defence Force officers using hydraulic cutters.
The crash site was just 2km away from Ken How's home at Bedok North Street 1.
By chance, two of his close friends were on a bus to Parkway Parade at about 3pm when they passed the crash site.
They recognised the car, alighted immediately and received the news they dreaded.
One of them, March Chua, 16, broke down when police told her who the victim was.
Holding back tears, she said: 'I advised him not to drive the car because it's dangerous, but he wouldn't listen.'
She said she regarded Ken How as her confidant and added that she had seen him at the wheel of the car on a number of occasions over the past few months, ferrying friends around.
Secondary 2 student Quek Su Yin, 14, had also seen him driving around, and told him not to.
But, he added: 'He looked quite stable whenever I saw him drive.'
Ken How, who was two years away from being legally allowed to apply for a driving licence, was known to be fond of cars, often spending his time working on model kits.
His friends described him as a 'very bright boy' who would always be ready to help them when the need arose.
He was to sit for his O-level exams in just over a month's time.
The car belonged to his older brother, who is in Australia training to become a Singapore Airlines pilot.
When The Straits Times arrived at Ken How's home at about 4pm, his mother, Madam Yeo, was seen leaving the house.
She said that she had received a call a few hours earlier from someone informing her that her son had died.
'I thought it was a nuisance call, so I scolded the person and hung up,' she said.
Even when the police called her later, she initially refused to believe it, thinking it was someone else.
The news only hit home later.
In a quavering voice, she simply said: 'I didn't know he could drive.'
The housewife, believed to be in her 50s, said that she did not know Ken How had left the house as she had gone out early in the morning.
She then rushed off.
A neighbour told The Straits Times that she had seen Ken How walk past her flat, dressed in a dark T-shirt and shorts, at about 9am.
Bedok South Secondary School principal Krishnan Aravinthan said the school was saddened to learn about Ken How's death.
He said: 'The school is helping affected students and staff to cope with the incident.'
sujint@sph.com.sg
no license, suzuki swift turbo = asking for trouble.
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Originally posted by Xcert:
learner drivers are still not qualified drivers...sad case there but then I dont really pity the guy lor...at 16...he must know that what he was doing is illegal and most important of all...dangerous to himself and others...He chose to ignore the risks and he paid the price...the only consolation is that nobody else has to share the mistake with him.
probationary license = drive @ driving school nia... L plate
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