At around 4.30am on Tuesday morning (16 April), a Grab delivery man crashed into an unmarked kerb and broke two bones in his right arm near Seletar Aerospace Heights.
It appears that the accident occurred when 29-year-old Muhammad Iskandar Shah was on his e-scooter riding back home after finishing his deliveries. While making a right turn at a junction, he failed to notice a kerb and hit into it.
Mr Iskandar’s sister, Nur’syairah Reez’Qi posted about this incident on the Facebook page of Singapore Food Delivery PMD Riders Club. Apparently, the kerb was the same colour as the pavement, making it hard for the rider to notice it although his e-scooter’s front light was turned on.
Mr Iskandar told The Straits Times (ST) that even though he was riding within the speed limit, but the impact of the crash resulted in him being flung off his e-scooter headfirst.
In order to protect himself, he struck out his arm in an attempt to break his fall, but he ended up landing hard on it instead. After he tried standing up on his own, he felt a terrible pain in his right arm and noticed an odd bulge along the side of his arm.
This is clearly where his bone is pressing against his skin, indicating he had broken his bone in which he would learn later.
After contacting his cousin, Mr Iskandar was brought to Khoo Teck Puat Hospital for treatment. According to his sister, he has to go through operations and is worried that his source of income will be affected.
According to ST, he was given 36 days of medical leave, and is the sole bread winner in his family and has to support his parents, who are in their 60s and unemployed.
“I don’t know how I’m going to pay my bills,” he said.
In the comment section of the post, his sister mentioned that it’s unbelievable to have an unmarked kerb in the country. “I can’t believe this can happen in Singapore after we contribute so much for road taxes”.
An eye-witness, NoiMin Chomolot, also said that the kerb was not at all visible for anyone to notice. “The curb might look harmless, but it wasn’t..was shocked myself because I didn’t see the high small curb myself at that wee hour,” she explained.
In her post, Ms Nur’syairah also called Land Transport Authority (LTA) to buck up their act as kerb with no indicator should not be allowed. However, based on ST, the area where the accident happened is managed by JTC Corporation and not LTA. It has also been reported that JTC Corporation has cordoned off the area after the accident.
JTC and the National Parks Board mentioned in a joint statement that they are sorry to hear about the accident and it occurred in an area where works for the Round Island Route are taking place. The organisations also noted that they are investigating the matter together.
Grab has also contacted the victim and is supporting him with his insurance claims, said its spokesman to ST.