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The tragic death of a young father-to-be after an accident at Gambas Ave on Apr. 10 saw an outpouring of emotions and support on social media.
Jason Tan, 24, a food delivery rider, was trying to complete 13 more orders that day to earn an incentive.
Broken bones and lacerations
Another motorcyclist was involved in the accident too.
Sarah Widjaya, the mother of the 20-year-old rider, has since come forward with a heartbreaking account of the state the accident has left her son in.
Witnesses apparently told Sarah that on the day of the accident, nobody attended to her son, Muhammad Alif initially, and he was left alone until two passers-by rushed to help.
Viewing dashcam footage of the scene, Sarah said that "even in such pain all he keep on mentioning is he wants to stand up and help the other rider".
After being conveyed conscious to the hospital, doctors initially gave Alif a sombre 50-50 chance of survival.
It was revealed that he had suffered a multitude of injuries — internal bleeding, a crushed left pelvis, broken ribs, a broken wrist, lacerations and torn lips, according to Sarah.
Photo courtesy of Sarah Widjaya
He is still warded in the Intensive Care Unit, and has undergone three major surgeries thus far.
She shared that Alif's medical bills have placed additional strain on the family as well.
"Surgery after surgery is mentally n financially heavy for the family. Its not an easy thing for the family as we are a really close to each other. What happen to his career? Will he be able to perform his career anymore as he loves helping others? Will he be able to do normal simple chores like he used to? What will happen to his future? Did anyone even asked how he was doing?"
Photo courtesy of Sarah Widjaya
Photo courtesy of Sarah Widjaya
Filial son
Speaking to Mothership, Sarah shared that Alif was working part-time as a nurse at Khoo Teck Puat Hospital while awaiting his National Service (NS) enlistment.
He intends to further his studies after NS, and wished to earn some income so as not to burden his family.
Alif is the fourth of her five children, and extremely protective of his siblings, Sarah shared. He is someone that "always put[s] others above him and hide[s] all his unhappiness".
Alif (top left). Photo courtesy of Sarah Widjaya
If his condition remains stable, he will undergo another "high-risk" operation soon.
However, Sarah said that the doctor is unable to give an estimate of how long his recovery will take.
In her post, Sarah added that Alif is "traumatised" from the accident, and also worried that his current condition is giving "trouble" to his family.
Since the accident, Sarah has taken leave from work, and is uncertain if she needs to quit her job to care for her son.
Alif's siblings have taken the accident hard as well, as the family is a close-knit one.
Moreover, Alif had celebrated his birthday just the day before the accident.
She shared that despite her anger and grief over the incident, she is still thankful Alif is alive.
"I am his mom. I breaks my heart to see my child in that situation. I rather it be me in that hospital bed suffering. Everytime he shout in pain and cry, i try to hide my tears."
"Even though i am very angry and sad, i thank god for giving us another chances to be with him."
You can read her full post here.
Top photo courtesy of Sarah Widjaya