Coroner's inquiry opens into death of girl, 7, hit by minibus in Sengkang condo

Every day, seven-year-old Nivya Rameshwar would leave home with her helper to wait for the school bus.

- Christine Tan

On the morning of Aug 15, 2024, the helper crossed the road in their Sengkang condominium first to put down Nivya's school bags, and told the girl to wait for her.

But Nivya was hit by a minibus on the road.

She died in hospital an hour later.

On Feb 20, a coroner's inquiry opened into the death of the Singaporean girl, who was killed at The Topiary, an executive condominium development near Seletar Mall.

Nivya's parents attended the inquiry, with the family's lawyers Alfred Dodwell and Lolita Andrew.

Station Inspector (SI) Jeff Tan, a Traffic Police (TP) investigation officer, told the court what happened at around 6.20am on the day of the accident.

The family's helper, Ms Sivakumar Ilavarasi, told the police she usually takes Nivya to the carpark service road at their condominium block between 6.10am and 6.20am to wait for the school bus.

They would usually cross that road so Nivya could board the vehicle.

That day, Ms Sivakumar told Nivya to wait for her at the gate of their block while she placed the girl's school bags on the opposite side of the road, and said she would come back to carry her.