A construction worker who died after being stung by a swarm of bees suffered a severe allergic reaction to their venom, a coroner’s court heard yesterday.

Indian national Chinnathambi Jeyam, 45, was working at Changi Air Base (East) when he and two colleagues were attacked by the swarm, which appeared when a crane lifted a pile of logs and branches they had tied up.

One of his colleagues saw detached bee stingers on Mr Chinnathambi’s forehead, left cheek and ear. He complained of giddiness and showed signs of losing consciousness.

Cardiopulmonary resuscitation was performed on Mr Chinnathambi at the airbase medical centre.

An ambulance took him to Changi General Hospital, where he was pulseless. He was pronounced dead at 3.18pm on May 14 this year.

An autopsy showed that Mr Chinnathambi died from anaphylaxis – a severe allergic reaction that the body mounts in response to the discovery of a foreign body such as food or insect venom.

State Coroner Marvin Bay, who found Mr Chinnathambi’s death to be an unfortunate misadventure, said his allergy to bee sting venom was not detected when he went for medical screening in September last year.

He said there was no basis to suspect foul play. None of the workers at the scene appeared to be aware of the presence of the bees in the pile of branches.

He added: “Deaths from allergic reactions to bee stings are an occasional, but real hazard.”

A pest control worker died after he was attacked by bees in Sherwood Road in November 2013.

“Discretion is the best policy, and people should give a wide berth to hives and swarms of bees and other stinging insects,” said the coroner.

“This is because most individuals will not be aware if their immune system will react to induce a fatal or debilitating anaphylactic shock if they are stung.”

This article was first published on Oct 29, 2016.
Get a copy of The Straits Times or go to straitstimes.com for more stories.

The safety of power-assisted or electric bicycles has been called into question following the fatal accident on Thursday night.

MPs called for more public awareness of how the devices should be used, so riders do not pose risks to themselves or others.

At close to midnight on Thursday, a trailer truck hit three e-bike users at the junction of Pandan Crescent along the West Coast Highway. Mr Ang Yee Fong, 25, died at the scene; Mr Ong Zi Quan, 18, died in the hospital; and Marcus Loke, 17, survived.

The trailer driver was arrested.

The accident sparked a debate online about the safety of e-bikes, with some calling for them to be banned, though others said all road users have to be mindful of safety.

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Accident involving e-bikers and truck in West Coast kills 2, injures 1

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Under the current laws, e-bikes are permitted on the roads, but cannot exceed a weight of 20kg or travel faster than 25kmh. The Land Transport Authority (LTA) is also expected to announce details on registering them later this year.

Mr Ang Hin Kee, deputy chairman of the Government Parliamentary Committee for Transport, weighed in, saying: “There are certain roads – due to either the speed or the design, or the type of vehicles used in the area, such as an industrial estate – which make them less suitable for bicycles.”

“Is there a need to step up restrictions on cyclists in such areas?” asked the MP for Ang Mo Kio GRC. He said there could be more education efforts, by the authorities and the cycling community, to teach cyclists how to negotiate the road environment and stay safe.

Mr Ang also questioned if more heavy vehicles can be equipped with collision avoidance warning systems to prevent accidents.

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E-bike retailers disagreed with suggestions that the devices are unsafe for roads, adding that they serve a commuting need and are in line with Singapore’s car-lite push.

Mr Ong Beng Teng, who runs Singapore Bike City, said: “Many elderly folk use them to travel around. They don’t speed and the electric power helps them ride up a slope. Otherwise, they have to dismount and push their bicycles.”

It is illegal to modify an e-bike so it can travel above the 25kmh limit. But some do, hitting speeds of between 70kmh and 100kmh. It is not known if the e-bikes in Thursday’s accident were modified, though some netizens believe they were.

Between January and August this year, the LTA issued an average of 161 notices a month for the use of illegally modified e-bikes. This was up from the monthly average of 155 last year, 87 in 2014 and 82 in 2013.

The number of accidents involving e-bikes has also risen. Last year, there were five fatal accidents, up from two cases in 2014 and one in 2013. There were also 22 accidents last year resulting in injuries, up from four in 2014 and five in 2013.

Associate Professor Muhammad Faishal Ibrahim, chairman of the Active Mobility Advisory Panel, said the advent of cycling and personal mobility devices is new in Singapore. Speaking to The Straits Times on the sidelines of an education seminar yesterday, he said the Government will continue to engage and educate users, and that enforcement activities will also continue.

Prof Faishal said: “One death or injury is just (one) too many.”

adrianl@sph.com.sg

Additional reporting by Yeo Sam Jo

This article was first published on Oct 29, 2016.
Get a copy of The Straits Times or go to straitstimes.com for more stories.

Read also:

E-bike in accident was so fast I thought it was a motorbike

Riding towards danger on 120kmh e-bicycles

Modified e-bikes raise safety concerns

The sound of heavy vehicles rumbling past is nothing new to residents who live in a block that overlooks the West Coast Highway.

But late on Thursday night, they heard a loud crash and screams that roused them from their sleep.

From their corridor, some of these residents living in Block 715, Clementi West Street 2, saw one man pinned under a trailer, a second on the road some distance away and a third walking around and screaming for help. Two crushed electric bicycles gave a hint of what had just happened.

Some of them rushed there to offer help. Childcare teacher Zuraidah Abu Bakar, 44, who was one of about 50 who gathered there, said she saw a helmet on the ground.

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Accident involving e-bikers and truck in West Coast kills 2, injures 1

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“The heavy vehicles here travel very fast, and last night it was especially busy,” Madam Zuraidah told The Straits Times yesterday. “It is really dangerous for these (electric) vehicles to be on the road.”

Of the three young men involved in the accident, two, aged 18 and 25, died. A 17-year-old survived.

The police have arrested the 34-year-old trailer driver for allegedly causing death by negligence.

Heavy vehicles are a common sight on the West Coast Highway, said residents. When The Straits Times was there at 6.30pm, 20 heavy vehicles could be seen passing by in just a minute.

However, no e-bikes were in sight. Residents said that when they do see them, many are on the West Coast Park Connector that runs near the block.

Others said that e-bike users can usually be seen on the roads on weekend mornings. Sometimes, families with young children even ride together, said Mr Gerard Zheng, 33, a property agent.

Heavy vehicle drivers who use the West Coast Highway said that while they have encountered several bicycles, they have not come across many e-bikes on the road.

Mr Chan Wee Heng, 38, who owns a fleet of eight 25-foot lorries that travel on the West Coast Highway, said: “Usually, we see bicycles. They may not be electric, but it is still dangerous because traffic is usually heavy with heavy vehicles on the highway.”

jalmsab@sph.com.sg

This article was first published on Oct 29, 2016.
Get a copy of The Straits Times or go to straitstimes.com for more stories.

Read also:

E-bike in accident was so fast I thought it was a motorbike

Riding towards danger on 120kmh e-bicycles

Modified e-bikes raise safety concerns

He had felt it was too dangerous but Ang Yee Fong , who died in Thursday’s accident, ‘said nothing would happen’

Every Thursday, Madam Chan Mei Ling, 51, would buy roti prata for her only son Ang Yee Fong. It was one of his favourite dishes and the 25-year-old always promised to finish it when he came home at night.

But on Thursday, he never made it home. Mr Ang was one of two electric bicycle riders killed in an accident with a trailer truck along West Coast Highway.

His wake was held yesterday evening at Sin Ming Drive, where 30 or so relatives and friends showed up, many of them in tears.

Friends described “Boi Boi”, as he was affectionately called, as an amiable and loyal young man who would always go out of his way to help his friends. They spoke about Mr Ang’s love for lion dance and cycling.

Full-time national serviceman Claus Lee, 19, said he, Mr Ang and several friends would usually cycle around the Ang Mo Kio area after 10pm on their electric bicycles.

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Accident involving e-bikers and truck in West Coast kills 2, injures 1

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“We would cycle at night because it’s cooler and there are not so many cars,” he said. “We don’t usually wear helmets as it’s uncomfortable and we feel safer when there are fewer cars.”

Mr Lee said he and Mr Ang had modified their e-bikes at a bicycle shop. “His bike could go up to 60kmh but he usually went at just 20 to 30kmh to save the battery. We would keep to the side of the road, on the double yellow lines.”

Mr Lee said he sold his two e- bikes earlier this year after two of his friends injured themselves. “I told (Mr Ang) to stop riding too because it’s dangerous, but he said nothing would happen.”

According to friends, Mr Ang and his friends, Mr Ong Zi Quan, 18, and Marcus Loke, 17, were cycling in the West Coast area on Thursday because Marcus, the only one of the three to survive, had wanted to visit his grandmother, who lives in Telok Blangah.

“We are still in shock,” said another of Mr Ang’s friends, Institute of Technical Education (ITE) College Central student Alvin Choo, 18.

“If we had any trouble, Boi Boi would always help us. How I wish I could pull him out and make him come back to life,” said Mr Choo, who added that Mr Ang was working as a waiter before he died.

Mr Ang’s maternal uncle, salesman Wilson Chan, 46, said his nephew’s love for cycling may have started when he helped out at a bicycle shop many years ago.

“He loved to repair bicycles,” said Mr Chan. “He would often get into trouble, but his parents still loved him. He never lied to me… He’s a very good guy.”

Madam Chan’s anguish was palpable yesterday, as she wailed loudly upon seeing her son’s body.

“Does your head hurt? You used to protect me, you wouldn’t let anyone bully me,” she said in Mandarin as she looked into his coffin.

“I must have done something wrong in my previous life, so now I don’t have a son to send me off when I die.”

Mr Ang’s father, his only sibling – an older sister – and girlfriend of three years were also at the wake.

Mr Ong was cremated at Mandai Crematorium in the afternoon.

His sister, who declined to give her name, told The Straits Times her brother, who graduated from ITE earlier this year, was due to start his national service next Monday. “I can’t believe this has happened.”

Mr Ong, who was the second of four children, also had two younger brothers aged 13 and 16. Their mother, who was visibly emotional at the mortuary, had brought them up after their father died four years ago.

When The Straits Times visited Marcus at the hospital, his mother said her son was too distraught to talk after losing his two friends.

yeosamjo@sph.com.sg

Additional reporting by Calvin Yang

This article was first published on Oct 29, 2016.
Get a copy of The Straits Times or go to straitstimes.com for more stories.

Read also:

E-bike in accident was so fast I thought it was a motorbike

Riding towards danger on 120kmh e-bicycles

Modified e-bikes raise safety concerns