Tree falls on car at carpark
The heavy downpour on Tuesday morning was both a blessing and a curse for Madam Leong Shock Ping.
The 53-year-old accountant was late leaving her home for work because of the rain.
So she was not in her car when a tree crashed on it at a carpark near Block 117, Serangoon North Avenue 1, hence escaping potential injury.
Madam Leong told The New Paper: "I just feel very fortunate that I wasn't in the car when it happened. I usually drive to work around that time."
But while counting her blessings, she couldn't help cursing her bad luck that the tree had to drop on her car.
STUNNED
She was stunned when her husband, who was at work, called her at 11am about the incident after he was informed by the police.
When Madam Leong went downstairs, her silver Nissan March was beneath several fallen branches. Both windscreens and the roof were badly damaged.
Workers scrambled to remove the tree from her car as rain continued pelting.
She said: "This is the first time such a thing has happened to me. I don't know what I'm supposed to do.
"We had been worried about that particular tree because of its loose branches. The tree was partially uprooted and had decaying roots."
Madam Leong said that four months ago, a few of her neighbours had contacted the town council to express their concerns about the tree.
A spokesman for the Aljunied-Hougang Town Council told TNP that they had received feedback about the tree and had arranged for their contractor to inspect it and suggest follow-up action.
The town council has a regular maintenance and tree pruning schedule, the spokesman added.
Madam Leong said she was told that it would cost at least $10,000 to repair her car.
She is hoping the cost can be covered under the town council's insurance plan.
But she added that she has been told that the town council could not confirm this at present.
And with her car expected to be in a workshop for a month, Madam Leong said: "I feel so lost and stressed right now."
We had been worried about that particular tree because of its loose branches. The tree was partially uprooted and had decaying roots.
- Madam Leong Shock Ping
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