Phoo Yi Lin was allegedly driving the car along Tanjong Pagar Road at a speed of 109kmh at around 5.35am on Feb 13, 2021. - ST FILE
SINGAPORE (The Straits Times/Asia News Network): A woman linked to the fiery car crash that killed five men in Tanjong Pagar on Feb 13, 2021, faces a dangerous driving charge.
Phoo Yi Lin, 26, had driven the white BMW M4 before alighting from the vehicle.
Its owner, Jonathan Long Junwei, 29, then took over the wheel.
Long had clocked speeds of up to 182kmh shortly before it ploughed into the pillar of a shophouse and burst into flames at around 5.40am that day.
Long and his four passengers - Wilson Teo Qi Xiang, 26; Elvin Tan Yong Hao, 28; Eugene Yap Zheng Min, 29; and Gary Wong Hong Chieh, 29 - were killed in the crash.
According to court documents, Phoo was allegedly driving the car along Tanjong Pagar Road at a speed of 109kmh at around 5.35am that day. The speed limit was 50kmh.
On Thursday (March 16), the Malaysian woman applied to leave Singapore but the court rejected her request.
She was charged in early March and is expected to plead guilty on April 3.
During the coroner’s inquiry into the men’s deaths, Traffic Police investigator, Senior Staff Sergeant Muhammad Firdaus Suleiman, had said that shortly before the tragedy, Long and his friends were at a Chinese New Year gathering in Ang Mo Kio where they had alcoholic drinks.
They then left for Hong Jja Jang restaurant in Tanjong Pagar Road, where they continued drinking.
The eatery was run by Park Se Jin, whose age was not mentioned in court.
Senior Staff Sgt Firdaus added that witnesses said Long then showed his new BMW to his friends.
The group took turns at the wheel, each driving once around the Tanjong Pagar area.
Yap, who was later found to have 119mg of alcohol per 100ml of blood, was the first to drive. He drove it from the restaurant towards Keppel, and made a U-turn on Enggor Street.
After that, he drove along Tanjong Pagar Road towards Maxwell Road before stopping near the eatery.
Yap had driven the car at speeds of between 77kmh and 88kmh.
Park then drove at speeds of up to 59kmh while following the same path.
Phoo allegedly took over after that and also followed the same path.
Long was the fourth driver, and four of his friends - Teo, Tan, Yap and Wong - joined him in the vehicle, which had designated seats for only the driver and three passengers.
Long was speeding along Tanjong Pagar Road when the car skidded and mounted a kerb. The car’s airbags did not deploy in the accident that killed all five men.
Long’s fiancee, former air stewardess Raybe Oh Siew Huey, then 26, tried to help them but got badly burned.
She spent four months at Singapore General Hospital and needed multiple reconstructive surgical operations.
Senior Staff Sgt Firdaus had earlier testified that Mr Long, Mr Yap and Mr Tan died of severe burns.
Teo died of severe burns and a spinal injury, while Mr Wong died of severe burns and pelvic injuries.
