On the morning of 25 December, a Singaporean Land Rover was involved in a car crash in Mersing, along with a Malaysian Toyota Corolla. The accident resulted in four deaths and a badly injured three-year-old.
The car belonged to the Lim family, who was on the first day of their supposedly week-long road trip. Three-year-old Evan Barnabas Lim, the youngest of the family of four, was the sole survivor of the crash. He lost his mother, Ng Khai Leng, 39, his father, Barnabas Lim Ah Huat, 45, and his elder brother, Rayshon Barnabas Lim, 6.
TODAY reported that Evan was saved by other motorists who were passing by the accident site at Sungai Dohol bridge, one of whom was Yang Yu Hua. Together, they pulled the little boy out of the wreckage. Yang then took Evan to Kota Tinggi Hospital in his car.
Evan suffers from second- and third-degree burns as the two cars caught fire after the crash. A doctor from Kota Tinggi Hospital also told Channel NewsAsia that they had to transfer him to Sultanah Aminah Hospital as they were not equipped to give him the special treatment he needed for his burns.
Malaysian authorities had initial difficulties identifying the casualties as their personal documents had been burned. Pictures of Evan was circulated online in search for his next of kin. Around the time his extended family in Singapore saw the photos, they were also contacted by Singapore’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA).
The fourth deceased victim was the driver of the Toyota Corolla, identified to be 30-year-old Noor Haryanti Safiai.
Read on to find out more about Evan’s condition after coming back to Singapore.
The Lim family’s bodies were brought back to Singapore on Saturday. Prior to that, Evan had been brought back to Singapore by his extended family.
Evan is recovering from his burns at KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital. Upon his discharge, he will live with his grandparents.
The late Ng Khai Leng’s younger sister, 36-year-old Ng Khai Hiang, says her nephew is in stable condition. If he responds well to the treatment, he can heal properly.
But Evan is still unaware of what has happened and keeps asking for his family. They are discussing as to how they can explain the situation to him, and they will tackle that problem after the wake is over.
Khai Hiang described the Lims as a close-knit family, with her late sister planning kid-friendly activities for the family every weekend.
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