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A white Honda Vezel took a dip in The Hillside condominium swimming pool on Feb. 28, 2023, at around 9:30pm.
The circumstances of the bizarre incident has now been revealed to be even more bizarre, as Shin Min Daily News reported that the driver had gotten lost for two hours prior to the incident while on the way from Sengkang to Upper Bukit Timah.
According to Shin Min, the driver, who is in his 60s, could not locate the destination on his map after there was a malfunction of his app.
He was ferrying a passenger, a 79-year-old woman from Malaysia.
She was on the hailed ride going from Sengkang to Upper Bukit Timah.
The woman was reported to be in Singapore to visit relatives and the ride was hailed on her behalf by her family.
30-minute ride ended up being 2 hours
In all, the journey from the northeast to the southwest was supposed to take 30 minutes.
When the elderly woman was not at her destination after an hour, the family got worried.
They tried getting in touch with the driver, but to no avail.
However, the woman managed to call her family and she passed her phone to the driver to take instructions on how to get to the condo.
It was during this interaction that the family found out that the driver had gotten lost as his map was down.
Taking instructions over the phone, the driver finally pulled up at the condo at around 9:20pm.
Rain likely caused driver to assume pool part of puddle
Shin Min further reported that the driver could have mistaken the swimming pool as part of the puddles on the ground that had formed due to the heavy rain that night.
But based on surveillance footage released by the condo management, it appeared that the driver was informed by a security guard on site that he was going in the wrong direction and that he had to reverse -- only for the driver to fail to take heed of the advice and continuing forward.
Hillside condominium management has since publicly released a statement and the CCTV footage of the incident.
A video that appeared on TikTok showed the car tipped into the condo swimming pool with its bumper and half its licence plate submerged in the aftermath of the accident.
@marketplaceforads The 2023 Hillside Condo Car Pooling incident Singapore. A new meaning to what carpooling means. #singapore #singaporetiktok #mothership #singapore #fyp ♬ 芭比q了 - 邓家忠
Drove right into the wading pool
According to the management, the driver was an elderly Chinese man who was a Gojek ride-hailing driver.
Based on the CCTV footage, the driver stopped at the end of the road leading to the basement car park before veering right onto a pedestrian pathway.
The condo management also plotted out on a map the wrong route that the driver took.
The pathway the car took leads to the clubhouse's entrance and three swimming pools -- an adult pool, a wading pool and a jacuzzi.
The pathway is wide enough for the car to pass because it is also an emergency fire engine access.
CCTV footage revealed that the driver hit some potted plants on the left of the pathway's entrance, reversed, moved forward again and hit some plants on the right.
The driver then reversed again and drove down the pathway.
The condo management added that the driver was approached by one of the security guards when the car stopped in front of the clubhouse.
The security guard walked to the car and spoke to the driver through the wound down window.
The guard apparently told the driver to reverse his car, but the driver ignored him.
The driver then drove forward and turned right into the wading pool.
Driver flees the scene
CCTV footage also showed the driver exiting the car and running away after the car tipped into the pool.
A few seconds later, the passenger left the car by herself.
Shin Min reported that the passenger appeared flustered and listless when she alighted from the car.
The Chinese news report hinted that the driver could also have been flustered having driven the car for more than two hours.
A security guard called the police, and the police arrived shortly after.
Some residents were seen coming out of their homes to assist the driver.
According to a security guard, the driver had identified himself as a Gojek ride-hailing driver.
The management has stated that they are seeking legal advice to claim for property damage the car had caused.
They have also written to Gojek to verify the man was their driver.
According to a resident who tipped Mothership off, the car managed to reverse out of its precarious position.
Gojek's response
Responding to Mothership's queries, a Gojek spokesperson said:
"The safety and well-being of our customers and driver-partners is our utmost concern, and we do not condone any behaviour that violates our policies. Our policies around safety and conduct are clearly emphasised during the driver-partner onboarding process.
We have looked into this case and are speaking to the customer and the driver-partner to resolve the issue and take the necessary action.
We are committed to providing a safe and positive experience for everyone on our platform, and will continue to work hard to strengthen training and education for our driver-partners."
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Top photo via Hillside Condominium Management