Victims of Tampines crash laid to rest
As Mr Muhammad Azril lay on his hospital bed, his firstborn Afifah Munirah, 17, was laid to rest at the Muslim cemetery in Choa Chu Kang.
The Police Coast Guard officer could not send his daughter off on her final journey as he himself was recovering from a surgery after the accident at the junction of Tampines Avenue 1 and Avenue 4 on April 22.
More than 100 people – family, friends and schoolmates, some in school uniform – turned up at the family home in Pasir Ris on April 23 and stood in sombre solidarity as they bid farewell to the Temasek Junior College first-year student.
The mood at the cemetery was gloomier than the overcast sky above, as mourners crowded around Afifah's final resting place.
Buried just two graves away was another victim of the crash, 57-year-old Norzihan Juwahib – also a firstborn.
Ms Norzihan, who was a caregiver for her elderly mother, recently fulfilled her dream of owning her own flat.
According to 8world, Ms Norzihan was an employee of First Choice Pest Specialist. The van she was in was among the six vehicles involved in the accident.
One of Ms Norzihan's five younger siblings said she "received her keys to her two-room HDB flat in Sengkang about three months ago and invited family and friends to her new home for Hari Raya".
The brother also said their 78-year-old mother is devastated to have lost her eldest child in the accident.
"When we got to the hospital, the doctors were still trying to resuscitate her but eventually told us, 'Sorry, we tried our best.'"
Get The New Paper on your phone with the free TNP app. Download from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store now
