Mum says prayer for daughter she lost in fatal Bukit Batok collision every time she walks by accident spot

SINGAPORE - Madam Jacelyn Wong, 25, has a three-year-old son and is expecting another boy in February.

But to the housewife and her husband, they will always be a family with three children.

They lost their four-year-old daughter, Eleanor Tan Si Xuan, on Oct 9, 2017, in a fatal car accident.

Eleanor had been on her way home from school with the family's domestic worker, Ms Su Su Hlaing, 38, and the pair were crossing the road near Bukit Batok Central when they were hit by a car .

They were taken to hospital, where Eleanor died of her injuries and Ms Su Su Hlaing needed weeks to recover.

On Thursday (Dec 06), more than a year after Eleanor's death, the driver Sai Mee Chun, 54, was sentenced to six weeks' jail and disqualified from driving all classes of vehicles for five years.

The former condominium manager had pleaded guilty to causing death by driving in a negligent manner.

For Madam Wong, who is seven months pregnant, it finally feels like there is closure.

"We didn't actively ask for updates on his case, because it doesn't make a difference," she said. "We want our memories of Eleanor to be about us (as a family), and not about him and the accident."

Ms Su Su Hlaing no longer works for the family.

Their grief has been assuaged a little by the coming addition to the family. Madam Wong found out she was pregnant in June.

"The new baby gave us motivation and we started preparing for the new adventure," said Madam Wong. "It did divert our attention away from our loss, but Eleanor will always be part of the family."

Her daughter's former kindergarten teachers and classmates, as well as the children's parents, also keep Eleanor, whom they described as a bubbly and cheerful girl, close to their hearts.

Last week, they presented Madam Wong with letters and a graduation gift in memory of their classmate, who would have graduated from kindergarten at a recent ceremony in school.

Said Madam Wong: "She might not be with us physically, but she exists in all our hearts."

Madam Wong faces an almost daily reminder of the accident when she takes her son to and from school, as they have to pass the scene of the incident. He goes to the same school that his sister attended in Bukit Batok.

"In the beginning, we would cry whenever we walked past. But now, we say a little prayer for Eleanor."

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