Woman has spinal surgery after falling branch hits her

68-year-old was waiting for hubby to pick her up after market trip for lohei ingredients

- Kolette Lim

In a split second, a trip to the market for lohei ingredients to celebrate Chinese New Year with the tossing of yusheng turned tragic for the Chan family.

On the morning of Jan 26, the branch of an angsana tree snapped and struck Mrs Chan, 68, as she was waiting for her husband to pick her up in their car across the road from Redhill Market and Food Centre.

The accident left the couple in sorrow through Chinese New Year—which took place on Jan 29 and 30—and saddled with hospital bills that have totalled more than $70,000 and continue to rise.

Speaking to The Straits Times on Feb 9, Mrs Chan's husband, who requested that they both be known only by their surname, said in Mandarin that he was seconds away from reaching his wife when the accident took place.

"She called me to pick her up, and when I turned into the road, I saw that a crowd had formed around someone lying on the ground," he said. "I realised that person was my wife when I saw the clothes she was wearing.

"I kept shouting my wife's name and when she opened her eyes to look at me, I could see they were blurry, and it looked as though she was going to fall asleep."