“That’s not my wife”: Woman killed in taxi accident was so badly hurt that husband could not recognise her

If it wasn’t for a water bottle and a set of keys, the husband of 67-year-old Mdm Xu would not have been able identify the body of his wife who lost her life after being hit by a taxi near Ayer Rajah Food Centre on Wednesday, 27 Sept.

Mdm Xu was killed while she was on her way to the Ayer Rajah Market, something she regularly did as part of her normal routine, after 6am.

When she did not return home by 9am, her concerned husband left the house to look for her.

Unbeknownst to him, Mdm Xu was so badly injured after a Comfort DelGro taxi ran over her while she was on her way, that paramedics pronounced her dead on the spot.

A video posted by Facebook user Benjamin Bong online shows Mdm Xu lying motionless in the middle of the road at West Coast Drive around 6.48am as the police and Singapore Civil Defense Force (SCDF) officers cover her body with a white cloth:

Meanwhile, Mdm Xu’s husband walked past the accident scene twice, not knowing that his wife of 40 years was the victim in the blue tent that the police had subsequently set up.

Unable to find his wife, Mdm Xu’s husband finally approached a nearby policeman for help, according to the Chinese daily. When the policeman asked him to check whether the accident victim is his wife, he acceded and tried to identify the woman.

“That’s not my wife,” the initially relieved husband told the police – until he spotted the water bottle and keys beside his wife and his short-lived relief turned to profound despair.

A representative of Comfort DelGro, Ms Tammy Tan, told reporters that they are in touch with Mdm Xu’s family and are rendering assistance to her loved ones. She added: “We are very sorry that this has happened.”

Meanwhile, police have arrested the 59-year-old male taxi driver for causing death by a negligent act. Investigations are ongoing.