River Valley fatal accident: Domestic helper goes on trial over death of 4-year-old girl

The domestic helper involved in the fatal River Valley accident that led to the death of a four-year-old girl went on trial on Oct. 15.

Lilyana Eva, a 33-year-old Indonesian national, is contesting a charge of committing a negligent act endangering the girl's life, CNA reported.

A gag order has been newly placed on the girl's identity, including the identities of her parents, siblings, their home address and their preschool.

Child ran across road

Lilyana is accused of allowing the girl to cross a road along Institution Hill without holding onto her on Jan. 23, 2024.

According to an earlier coroner's inquiry report seen by Mothership, Lilyana was bringing the victim and her younger sister home from their preschool.

She was holding on to both girls' bags and the hand of the younger sister, but was not holding the victim's hand.

As they crossed the road, the victim started to run across the road to get to the pavement on the opposite side.

Lilyana claimed she did not notice the vehicle coming from her left at that moment. She also recounted that she was not using any devices at the time of the incident.

She later saw the vehicle collide with the victim and saw the wheels of the vehicle go over the victim's leg and her head.

The girl died in hospital later that day.

The car was driven by a 40-year-old Australian woman, who has not been charged over the incident.

The coroner's inquiry also revealed that the driver did not seem to be going at a fast speed and that the victim had appeared in in-vehicle footage for only one second before the collision occurred.

It was also stated that at 100cm tall, the driver's view of the victim would have been blocked.

Trial opened

The trial began with the judge imposing a gag order on the identities of the victim, her parents and siblings, their home address and their preschool.

The gag order does not extend to Lilyana or the road where the accident occurred, CNA reported.

The prosecution then called its first witness, forensic pathologist Wu Jia Hao, to testify about the extensive injuries the victim suffered from the car accident.

Wu explained that the girl died of a "head injury", which referred to several blunt force injuries, indicating a "compressive force" being applied to her head.

She also suffered multiple fractures to her skull and face.

Accompanied by HOME

Lilyana appeared in court with her lawyers and supporters from non-governmental organisation Humanitarian Organisation for Migration Economics (HOME).

She is no longer employed by the victim's parents and has been staying at HOME's shelter since investigations began.

If convicted of committing a negligent act endangering life, she could be jailed for up to three months, fined up to S$1,500, or both.

The trial is scheduled to resume in November 2025.

Top photo from Google Maps