He saw an e-biker being hit by a truck, then dragged along the street.
Mr Lek, 56, a courier, who was on Cecil Street, told The New Paper the shocking sight made him stop in his tracks.
But he was not prepared for what awaited him when he went forward to investigate after the truck had come to a stop several metres down the road.
He said: “I was shocked to see that the victim was my friend. From his badly injured body, I knew he didn’t survive the accident. I can’t believe he is gone.”
Mr Lek said the man was a courier like him and was known as Lao Chek (old uncle in Hokkien) among fellow workers. He does not know the man’s real name.
The duo often saw each other around Raffles Place when they delivered packages for their clients.
The police said they were notified about the accident between the tipper truck and the e-bike at around 10.30am yesterday.
Officers have arrested the 54-year-old driver for causing the death by performing a negligent act. Investigations are ongoing.
The Singapore Civil Defence Force paramedics pronounced the 62-year-old dead at the scene.
Mr Lek told TNP that he has known Lao Chek for six years. Heaving a sigh, he said: “Even though we were not from the same company, we always chatted whenever we met.
“He was a friendly guy. I last saw him in the area at 9.15am and he seemed fine. It is sad that he died about an hour later.”
Mr Lek said his friend worked for Courier Circle Asia.
TNP called the company and a man confirmed that the victim was one of its employees.
However, he declined to comment about the incident.
Mr Lek said: “As couriers, we know that we have to ride carefully all the time. I am sad that Lao Chek is no longer with us. I will definitely miss him.”
When TNP arrived at the scene at 12.45pm, a large crowd had gathered on both sides of the road.
Many office workers were seen craning their necks to get a better view of the aftermath of the accident.
Police officers were observed conducting their investigations within a cordoned-off area, and they set up a blue tent over the body.
The crash on the extreme left side of Cecil Street near Republic Plaza caused a traffic jam.
An unidentified bespectacled man arrived at the scene at around 1pm and he broke down when officers showed him the body.
He left the scene in a green car 20 minutes later after the body was taken away in a black van.
An onlooker, who wanted to be known only as Miss Lee, 32, said she often sees e-bikes on the road in the area and fears for their safety.
She said: “Cecil Street is a busy road, I feel sorry for the victim in this tragedy. I read the news and many ebikers have already lost their lives on the road.
“I hope the authorities will do something to help both e-bikers and other motorists.”
Another onlooker, Mr Muhammad, shared the same sentiment.
He said: “I think e-bikers need to be trained first before they are allowed on the road. There have already been several accidents involving them recently.”
Photo GalleryAnother e-bike rider dies in collision
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This article was first published on Nov 19, 2016.
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