S'pore man, 19, falls into canal while delivering food in rain, bicycle gets swept away, but reunites with it after another man finds, repairs & posts about mysterious drain bike

Talk about a miracle and the connectedness of the internet.

After a heavy downpour subsided, a bicycle was found left behind in a canal in the Hillview area.

The two-wheeler appeared to be in relatively good condition.

According to 8World, Christopher Koh and a neighbour decided to retrieve it using a rock-climbing rope to haul the bicycle out of the storm drain.

Koh brought the bicycle back to his nearby workshop, took some photos and posted about it on a local cycling Facebook group, SG PCN Cyclist, in hopes of reunited it with its owner.

When a commenter asked if a person might have ridden the bicycle into the drain, Koh said the bike had been locked with a chain that went through the frame and the rear wheel.

This meant it was unlikely that someone had fallen into the storm drain.

But the truth, it seems, was stranger than fiction.

Because someone did fall into the drain while riding the bicycle.

A dark and stormy night

It turns out that on Oct. 25, a 19-year-old delivery rider was cycling near The Lanai condominium in Hillview during a heavy downpour.

Because of the rain and poor visibility, and in addition to the area being very dark and the rider having taken off his glasses, he failed to notice the canal in front of him until it was too late to stop.

He was initially worried that a collision with the canal fence would puncture his tyres.

Instead, that was not the worse fear to come true.

He was flung over the fence with his bike into the canal below, which was about 2m deep.

After coming to his senses, he struggled to stand in the drain, as water rushed in.

His phone was washed off the phone holder, which meant that he was unable to call for help.

Picking up his bike on his shoulder, which weighed about 8k, according to Shin Min Daily News, the rider called out for help for an estimated 20 minutes, but to no avail.

The water was about 40cm high.

Climbed out but lost his bike

Deciding that help was not coming and that he would need to get himself out of the canal, he locked his bike and tried to secure it to a canal pipe.

He then attempted to climb out of the canal, intending to turn back to retrieve his bicycle.

But as soon as he was able to get out, the bike was washed away by the waters.

Due to his injuries, the rider decided against trying to retrieve his bike and sought help for his injuries.

It was only later, after contacting PUB for help, that the national water agency directed him to Koh’s post.

This was where the rider then recounted his incredible story in the comments section.

PUB had tried to help him find his bike the day after his incident, but were unable to locate it.

Passing on kindness

Koh said he had found the bicycle in good condition on Oct. 26, and had carefully lifted the bike out the canal with a neighbor's help, who provided rope and a pair of bolt cutters for the lock.

In response to questions from Mothership, Koh joked that the situation must have made his neighbor and him look like thieves.

But he wheeled the bicycle to his nearby workshop and washed it off as it smelt of drain water.

The next day he spent a short time making the bike rideable again, although he noted that there were further damages that would needed to be fixed, such as punctured inner tube tires and a cracked fibre rim.

He also replaced bolts on the bicycle's handlebar stem, which turned out to be unique blue and silver bolts, and were likely to have been installed after purchase.

Verifying the owner

It was this detail that the rider was able to provide to him that convinced him that the claimant was really the owner of the bike.

Koh had set up a few authentication tests to ensure that a claimant was really the owner, including looking for previous photos of the bike and answering questions about a unique bolt that could not be seen in Koh’s own photos.

When the rider claimed the bike, he was able to pass the tests and offered to pay for the repairs, but Koh declined when he learned the rider’s age.

Koh told 8 World that he had been the recipient of help from many kind people over the years, and that he hoped to pass on that kindness.

Instead, he said he hoped that the rider would save his money to replace his phone, and that despite that loss, the retrieval of his bicycle would set his mind at ease.