Cyclist's death on Ubin ruled misadventure

Elena Chong, Straits Times 3 Jun 09;

MIDWAY cycling down a slope on Pulau Ubin, Madam Lee Yan Inn, 41, asked her teenage daughter if she wanted to go faster for a bigger thrill.

But the 15-year-old, sitting behind her mother on the two-seater tandem bicycle, did not reply.

As the bike zoomed down the slope on Jalan Wat Siam, the cyclists hit a hump and it jerked suddenly, throwing both mother and child off.

Madam Lee suffered serious head injuries and died of a contused brain due to a broken skull at Changi General Hospital 11 hours later on Sept 8 last year.

Her daughter got away comparatively lightly, suffering some bruises on her right hand, right shoulder and legs.

At a coroner's inquiry yesterday, an investigation report put up by Station Inspector Kenny Chua from the Traffic Police said that Madam Lee and her family had gone to the island to cycle at about 1pm on Sept 7.

Madam Lee's husband, Mr Tiew Sin Keng, 44, told police he was riding alone - about a bicycle's length behind his wife and daughter - when he noticed that they had begun to pick up speed while going down the 116m-long slope.

He was cycling halfway down Jalan Wat Siam - dubbed 'cemetery road' by old-timers on the island because of an old Chinese cemetery at the top of the slope - when he saw that his wife's bicycle was already nearing the foot.

He heard a loud scream and saw his wife and daughter flung off their bicycle.

Their daughter said her mother had cycled on the island two years earlier without any incident.

She noticed that on that fateful day, her mother did not apply any brakes as they were cycling down the slope.

State Coroner Victor Yeo recorded a verdict of misadventure on Madam Lee's death, saying it was indeed an unfortunate cycling accident.

In July 2006, an 18-year-old Simei Institute of Technical Education student died after she fell and hit her head while cycling on the same slope.

Ubin cycling death an accident
Elena Chong, Straits Times 2 Jun 09;

A WOMAN was cycling down a slope on a tandem bicycle with her daughter on Pulau Ubin when she lost control of the bicycle and both fell off, a coroner's court heard.

As they were half-way down the slope along Jalan Wat Siam last Sept 7, Madam Lee Yan Inn, 41, had asked her 15-year-old daughter whether she wanted to go faster for more thrill.

The girl did not reply.

As the bicycle gained speed as it was going down, it jerked up suddenly while going over a hump, causing both to fall off the bicycloe.

Madam Lee suffered serious head injuries and was conveyed to Changi General Hospital where she died 11 hours later of a contused brain due to a broken skull.

Her daughter suffered some bruises on her right hand, right shoulder and legs.

An investigation report tendered at a coroner's inquiry on Tuesday said Madam Lee's husband, Mr Tiew Sin Keng, 44, was cycling behind them when he noticed that she had picked up speed while cycling down the slope.

He was cycling half-way down when he saw that his wife's bicycle was already nearing the foot of the 116m-long slope.

He subsequently heard a loud scream and saw his wife and daughter flung out from the bicycle.

Mr Tiew told police that this was the second time his wife had cycled within the island. Nothing happened when she was there in 2006.

State Coroner Victor Yeo recorded a verdict of misadventure on Madam Lee's death on Sept 8, saying it was indeed an unfortunate cycling accident.