Secretary-General of Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) Dr Chee Soon Juan took to Facebook on Sunday (11 July) to wish victims who were involved in the recent Bukit Batok bus collision a speedy recovery.
Dr Chee was referring to an accident that happened on Sunday evening at Bukit Batok interchange involving two Tower Transit buses.
It was reported that both buses, which were plying the 945 route, collided, causing one of the buses to mount a curb, smash through railings, and fall to its side. Only the bus that landed on its side had passengers in it.
The Tower Transit said on Monday (12 July) that most of the 15 passengers who were conveyed to hospital have already been discharged.
Only four remain warded, including a Tower Transit bus driver who has “non-critical injuries”.
In his Facebook post, Dr Chee said that he heard about the accident just before closing his café, Orange & Teal, on Sunday evening, adding that he visited the scene right after closing his café.
“Heard about the tragic news of the bus accident at the BB Bus Interchange just before closing the café this evening. Went down to the scene after closing, by which time things were calmer,” he wrote.
Dr Chee also expressed that the condition of the bus was a “wreck”, as he wished all those injured in the accident a speedy recovery.
He went on to say that he is looking forward for the report on how the accident happened and what measures will be taken to prevent such incidents from happening again in the future.
“I wish all those injured a speedy recovery and look forward to the report about how the accident happened and what measures can be taken to prevent such incidents from happening in the future,” Dr Chee wrote.
Commenting on the accident, Member of Parliament (MP) for Bukit Batok Murali Pillai told reporters that the incident happened when one bus was pulling into the interchange while the other bus was pulling out.
Representatives from Tower Transit and the Land Transport Authority (LTA) also explained to Mr Murali during a meeting on the safety measures in place at the bus interchange.
“There are three categories – the first one is in relation to bus and equipment. The second one is in relation to the people, meaning the drivers, the safety measures in relation to drivers. The third one is in relation to the environment, meaning the bus interchange,” he elaborated.
Mr Murali continued, “So they have quite (a) detailed framework and I’m also glad to note that Tower Transit has taken on additional steps by deploying marshals and making sure that the drivers adhere very strictly to the speed limits. So these are additional steps that they put in place in terms of measuring their compliance.”
“As far as the incident is concerned, it’s under investigation by the Traffic Police, and I understand that LTA is also reviewing the matter.”
