AN OPEN verdict was returned on Thursday on the death of a cabby two days after he was found lying unconscious on a grass patch at a public carpark.
Mr Quek Yong Hoe 56, a night shift TransCab driver, died in hospital of severe head injuries on July 1 last year.
The father of two was found lying on the slope beside Eton House Pre-School's side gate at Outram Road on June 29. School staff who saw him did not call the police as no visible injury was found.
They thought he was sleeping or drunk. A member of the public later called police at 8.35am. At an inquiry into his death, the court heard that Mr Quek was a habitual drinker.
But two of his siblings who were in court pointed out that their brother was a responsible cabby and would not drink while he was working.
They also said he was a careful person. They queried the investigation officer Staff Sergeant Jane Tan Yen Theng on, among other things, his missing cellphone, identity card and wallet.
Staff Sgt Tan said police had first received a call at about 4.10am that a cab driver was drunk and driving at River Valley Road opposite Valley Park condominium.
She said it was highly probable he had been drinking between 1.08am and 4.11am. He could have fallen and hit his head on the ground sometime past 7am.
But no blood alcohol test was done on his admission to the hospital, the court heard. State Coroner Victor Yeo said he was unable to rule out that Mr Quek could be a victim of a mobile phone theft and sustain the severe head injuries in the process.
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If you are willing to admit faults, you have one less fault to admit.
Wah new tactics by robbers ! Call police to claim drink driving to spolit cabby name first ! Then rob cabby ! Outram is a fark place the last time also transcab driver was robbed and killed there !
HOW cabby Quek Yong Hoe ended up bashed and unconscious at an Outram carpark is not known.
What is known is that he lay dying for at least two hours on a grass patch, blood oozing from his mouth and nose, last Friday morning. And no one bothered to help him.
It's not known how many people saw him, but at least three did and ignored him because they thought he was just drunk and sleeping.
One of them saw him at 6.30am - and it was not until 8.30am that a business executive on his way to work finally tried to save him.
Mr Quek was rushed to hospital but died two days later.
Whether those two hours might have made a difference in the Jurong West cabby living or dying, no one can tell for sure.
But as his rescuer, who wanted to be known only as Mr Tan, said: 'Nobody deserves to die like this.'
The 56-year-old full-time driver with TransCab had a fractured skull.
His handphone and cash were missing, indicating that he could have been attacked and robbed.
Mr Tan, 37, said he noticed the driver was bleeding.
'He was still breathing, but was unconscious,' he added.
Mr Tan said he found out the cabby had died when he called the hospital on Monday.
His heart sank. He had spent the whole weekend worrying about the person he had tried to help.
had really hoped his life could be saved,' said Mr Tan.
APPEAL FOR WITNESS
He then decided to call The New Paper hotline, as he wanted to appeal for witnesses who could shed some light on what had happened to Mr Quek.
'We need to find out what happened,' said Mr Tan, who felt it was unfortunate that no one had helped the cabby earlier.
He had seen Mr Quek at the Outram Road public carpark near the Singapore General Hospital around 8.30am.
The taxi was illegally parked about 10m away, across three parking lots.
'It was peak hour on Friday morning and quite a number of people walk past that carpark. Surely someone must have seen him earlier.
'There were people walking by, but even when they saw me and my colleagues trying to help the unconscious taxi driver, nobody stepped forward to offer help.'
Mr Tan admitted that from a distance, the cabby, dressed in a light blue chequered polo T-shirt and jeans, appeared to be taking a nap.
'But it seemed strange that he would choose the dirty grass patch to sleep at, and his shoes were off his feet,' he said.
He quickly walked to the cab, which had its doors closed and windows up. He was worried there could be other people inside.
'Maybe I am a busybody, but I have read too many reports of carbon monoxide poisoning, and I just wanted to make sure everything was all right,' he said.
When he drew near, he realised the taxi's engine was off, but the key was still in the ignition.
Thinking that man must be the driver, Mr Tan approached him, wanting to wake him up to tell him about the key.
A closer look startled him - the man was unconscious and bleeding.
'He must have been there for quite some time because there were flies and ants crawling around his face,' said Mr Tan.
The man also seemed to be having spasms.
Mr Tan immediately called 999. He also called two of his female colleagues from his work place nearby.
Both women, who are trained nurses, hurried to the scene, where they turned Mr Quek onto his right side to enable him to breathe better before the ambulance arrived.
One of Mr Tan's colleagues checked the taxi for the driver's handphone to inform his family. She couldn't find it.
But Mr Tan said he spotted a blood-stained handkerchief on the dashboard.
He also observed that a scooter parked nearby had light bloodstains on it, and its number plate was bent.
Mr Tan, a former flight steward, said he remained calm throughout as he had been trained to deal with emergency situations.
He tried to visit Mr Quek in hospital that evening after work. But he learnt that he was in the intensive care unit of the neurology ward.
Said Mr Tan: 'I left the hospital without seeing the man, or even knowing his name, as I didn't want to intrude on his family's privacy.'
When interviewed at the wake at Jurong West, Mr Quek's relatives said they found out about the incident only around 3pm on Friday.
His eldest brother, Mr Quek Tian Song, 60, a trader, said: 'We understand that the relief driver had called him at 7am and my brother had not answered his handphone.'
Mr Quek's younger sister, Ms Quek Moon Lan, 40, an executive, said: 'If someone had seen him earlier and called the police, maybe he would have had a better chance of survival.'
well, so guys, plz be more helpful when you are on the road, spend a little bit of time to see if someone needs your help or not. who knows, your action may save a life.
