Tree falls on cars in Dempsey, injuring 2 people

This article is more than 12 months old

Mar 05, 2023 12:51 am

Two people suffered minor injuries after a tree fell on two cars in Dempsey on Saturday evening.

The tree landed on a red sports car and a white car in front of the restaurant Blu Kouzina.

This is at least the second tree to have fallen in the restaurant area recently. Another tree fell in Dempsey on Jan 30.

The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) said it received a call on Saturday for assistance at 10 Dempsey Road at about 7.20pm.

Two people were assessed for minor injuries and they refused to be taken to the hospital, SCDF added.

Ms Vivian Tan, a curator at the REDSEA Gallery across the road from Blu Kouzina, told The Straits Times she heard a thunderous bang from inside the gallery, which startled her and about six others.

The 24-year-old rushed out to find the fallen tree lying on the two cars, one of which was empty.

She added: “The door of a red car that the tree fell on opened and the woman and man inside managed to exit.”

The woman appeared to be in shock, as the tree trunk had hit where she was sitting in the car, and she then sat on a chair provided by the SCDF, said Ms Tan.

By 9pm, workers started sawing the tree’s branches and a lorry arrived about half an hour later to help with removing the tree, she added.

Another tree fell and damaged at least five cars on Jan 30, nearly 300m away from Saturday’s incident.

Mr Augustine Cheah, who owns one of the cars affected in the Jan 30 incident, said his vehicle sustained a couple of dents on the roof and a door, while another car’s roof had partially caved in.

The 62-year-old retired broker was meeting some friends nearby when he heard about the treefall. He is still in the process of claiming for compensation, he said.

Separately, another tree fell close to a residential block at Paya Lebar Way and the Pan Island Expressway on Saturday morning, said MacPherson SMC MP Tin Pei Ling in a Facebook post.

Nobody was hurt, she added, with workers contracted by the Marine Parade Town Council working through the heavy rain to clear the tree.

Ms Tin said: “Given this is a wet season, I have also asked the town council to work with the horticultural contractor and relevant agencies to do another thorough check on the trees in our constituency, to do our best to enhance safety for our residents.”

Showers drenched Singapore on Saturday because of a monsoon surge.

This came after the island experienced its wettest February day on record on Feb 28 due to the same weather phenomena.

In Admiralty, the mercury plummeted to as low as 21.6 deg C.

Rainy conditions are set to persist in the first week of March, with thundery showers in the afternoon on most days, according to the weatherman.