Lucky Plaza accident: 1 sister dead, another in hospital; all 6 Filipino victims good friends

SINGAPORE - One sister is dead while another has been hospitalised.

The two Nucos siblings – Arlyn, 50, who died and Arcely, 56, who was injured – were among the six victims of the Lucky Plaza accident on Sunday afternoon (Dec 29), which also killed a second woman.

All six Filipino nationals and domestic helpers were close friends.

They were gathered on a pavement along Nutmeg Road behind Lucky Plaza for early celebrations ahead of the New Year when a black Honda turned towards them, mounted a curb and crashed through a pavement railing and plunged several metres.

The car landed on the exit lane of Lucky Plaza’s carpark and it is believed the victims were flung from the pavement to the lane below as the car fell.

The other four victims – who are now at Tan Tock Seng Hospital – are aged 37 to 56.

The Straits Times understands that the second woman who died was Abigail Danao Leste, 41.

The two Nucos sisters’ brother Reynaldo – who is in the Philippines’ San Carlos district in Caba town, La Union – told radio station Bombo Radio La Union that he and another family member realised something was wrong when his two sisters did not check in for their weekly video calls.

Mr Nucos said he learned of the accident after calling his wife, who is also a domestic helper in Singapore, late on Sunday.

He said Arlyn and Arcely had already remitted money for their family to use for the Christmas and New Year festivities.

Online news site Rappler reported that the sisters had been working as domestic helpers in Singapore since 1990.

Arcely was set to return home in January.

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Mr Nucos said he and another sister, Alice, a teacher in the Philippines, are working on getting Arlyn’s remains flown back home and to make sure Arcely, who is injured, pulls through.

Mr Yeo Guat Kwang, the chairman of the Centre for Domestic Employees told reporters on Monday that the six victims are quite close.

“They meet together quite often during the weekends, and did not expect something unfortunate to happen,” he said, adding that two of the injured who are warded are also relatives.

The two women who died had been working in Singapore for more than 20 years, while some of the injured have been here for at least 10 years.

“They are quite senior workers and they have been contributing to our families and supporting them all the while,” Mr Yeo said.

“We definitely want to do our best to see what more we can assist them with.”

Mr Yeo also said that the centre is in the process of contacting the women’s employers, and that the employer of one of the domestic helpers who died is currently on holiday.

The daughter of one of the dead women has confirmed that she will travel to Singapore.

“Some of (the women’s family members) do not have travel documents, so we are trying to contact them to do all that is necessary,” Mr Yeo said.

The daughter who is travelling here has a passport, so the Centre for Domestic Employees is working with the Philippine embassy to facilitate her travel. “What we need is to support her financially to (travel here),” Mr Yeo said.

Two of the victims are from Cagayan province in the Philippines while two are from La Union province.

Cagayan is located in the north-east region of Luzon Island while La Union lies in its north-western region.

The Philippine embassy on Monday expressed its condolences to the families of the two women who died.

A spokesman for the embassy said: "The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) stands ready to provide all assistance needed for the victims. The DFA, through the embassy, is in touch with authorities for the repatriation of the remains of the Filipino casualties."

On Sunday, police said they were alerted at 4.58pm to an accident involving a car and six women along the Orchard Road shopping strip.

A 64-year-old male driver, whose black Honda sported private-hire licence decals, was arrested at the scene for dangerous driving causing death.

The Straits Times understands the driver was attempting a U-turn before crashing into the railing.

The driver was a partner with private-hire operator Grab.

When contacted, a spokesman for Grab said: "We are deeply saddened to hear about the accident and are assisting the authorities in the investigation."

Asked if the driver had just dropped off a passenger or was on his way to pick one up, Grab declined to answer, saying that the police are investigating the case.

In an interview with a Philippine radio station, Consul-General Adrian Candolada, from the Philippine embassy, described the incident as a "freak accident".

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Mr Yeo also urged members of the public to respect the privacy of the women who died as well as that of the families. "Please do not circulate any photos or videos via social media, and do not speculate further. Please allow investigations to run its due course," he added.

Police are currently investigating the case.

Lucky Plaza mall is popular with foreign workers, especially Filipino domestic workers.

This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission required for reproduction.