A 93-year-old man died in June after 1.5 years in a vegetative state, his bereaved family told Shin Min Daily News.
Mr Chen Miankun (transliterated from Mandarin) ultimately succumbed to a condition caused by an accident with a car in Yishun.
Source: Shin Min Daily News
Mr Chen’s daughter Wei’en, 50, said he lived in Block 749 Yishun Street 72 with his wife and a female tenant.
On 19 Jan 2024, he rode his personal mobility aid (PMA) to a nearby market to buy groceries to cook for his wife.
He would typically ride the PMA to do volunteer work with his daughter. This included collecting food for distribution to people in need, she added.
Source: Shin Min Daily News
However, on that day, he was hit by a car.
Ms Chen was overseas on holiday at the time, and her mother has Alzheimer’s disease.
Thus, she did not know about the accident until their tenant informed them that her father had not returned home.
She called the police, who notified the family about the accident only the day after, as Mr Chen did not carry any identification.
It turned out that he had undergone emergency surgery in the hospital due to a brain haemorrhage as a result of the accident.
As he was briefly conscious after the surgery, his condition deteriorated rapidly, and he subsequently entered a vegetative state.
Mr Chen’s wife visited him in the hospital. Source: Shin Min Daily News
After nearly three months in the hospital, his family decided to take him home.
A caregiver cared for him during the day. And Ms Chen and her older sister took turns to care for him at night.
Sadly, Mr Chen passed away, dashing the hopes of his family that he would recover.
Ms Chen said her father’s death was difficult for them to accept, as he was healthy but turned into a “vegetable” due to the accident.
Despite being in his 90s, he had provided steadfast care for their mother, she added.
His son, 53-year-old interior designer Weiwu, said his father loved his wife of 60 years dearly even after she developed Alzheimer’s.
A very family-oriented and romantic person, Mr Chen still wrote love letters to his wife and kissed her forehead during her yearly birthday celebration, he added.
Source: Shin Min Daily News
The younger Mr Chen also said his father built close relationships with neighbours after living in Yishun for more than 30 years.
He loved to fix things and often repaired appliances and furniture around the estate for free, he added.
The driver of the car that hit him, 57-year-old Leck Hang Wei, pleaded guilty in court on Monday (4 Aug) to one count of careless driving.
He was driving along Yishun Ring Road at about 2pm when he stopped at the Yishun Avenue 5 junction, reported Lianhe Zaobao.
While waiting in the extreme left lane for pedestrians to cross, he did not notice Mr Chen on his PMA.
He then started to turn left, though the traffic light had not yet changed to green.
Mr Chen fell from his PMA when hit by the car. Leck got out of his car to assist and called an ambulance.
The prosecution noted that Leck ran a red light. He also caused serious injuries to the victim, requiring 27 days of hospitalisation.
However, Leck’s lawyer said his client was deeply sorry and did his best to assist the victim after the accident.
In addition to a six-month jail sentence, Leck’s license was suspended for five years.
Also read: Uncle on PMA gets hit by truck exiting Ubi building, driver stops to help
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Featured image adapted from Shin Min Daily News.