Cake smashed, aunty dead

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SHE was on her way to her sister's house to celebrate her niece's first birthday.
Madam Salimah Ithnin was in the back seat of this Nissan Sunny when it crashed.

In the car with Madam Salimah Ithnin, 40, her mother, sister and brother-in-law, was the cake they had bought for the little girl.

But they never made it to the party.

Their car collided with an oncoming car on Saturday at 8.15pm, at the junction of Mandai and Mandai Lake roads.

Madam Salimah suffered serious head injuries and died at the National University Hospital (NUH) about three hours later, reported Shin Min Daily News.

Another female passenger, who was sitting next to her in the backseat, suffered multiple fractures and was in intensive care at NUH.

The eight people in the other vehicle, a Malaysian-registered Volvo SUV, suffered minor injuries.

All 12 were taken to hospital in four ambulances.

Madam Salimah's sister and brother-in-law had planned a celebration for their daughter's first birthday at their Jurong home that day.

The couple, both 30, drove their Nissan Sunny to Madam Salimah flat in Jurong to fetch her and her mother to the party.

According to the sister's mother-in-law, they left the house at about 7pm.

MUM HAD COOKED UP FEAST

The 49-year-old housewife told Shin Min Daily: 'My son said that besides picking them up, he would also buy a birthday cake on the way, so they would be back at 8:30pm.

'I had already cooked a feast and was waiting for them.'


The children who were in the Malaysian-registered car were slightly hurt.

Instead, she received a phone call with news of the terrible crash.

'My daughter-in-law kept crying over the phone,' she said.

She told Lianhe Wanbao: 'They had already bought a cake, the house was all decorated.

'Now, (Madam Salimah) won't have the chance to celebrate birthdays with her nieces and nephews again.'

She added that Madam Salimah had quit her job several years ago to look after her 66-year-old mother, who suffers from arthritis and other ailments.

She said that Madam Salimah's mother's arm was seriously injured and needed surgery.

She was taken straight to the operating theatre after the accident, so she does not know that her daughter was dead.

Said mother-in-law: 'We still don't dare to tell her.'

She added that her son suffered a broken leg, while Madam Salimah's sister had minor injuries.

The driver of the SUV, a 45-year-old bank employee, told reporters that he took his family to Singapore to visit the Night Safari that night.

The family, who is from Johor, was planning to go to Sentosa yesterday.

His wife and five children, aged between 5 and 17, and his brother-in-law were also in the car when the accident took place.

He said that the family does not have close friends in Singapore, so they will cut their trip short and return to Malaysia in taxis.

He said: 'Our car was destroyed, but my family suffered minor injures, so I am thankful for that.'

When Shin Min Daily News visited the accident site, the two crumpled vehicles were still there. There was broken glass all over the road. Blood stains were still visible on the ground. Lying on the grass just metres from the Nissan Sunny, still in its plastic bag, was the squashed birthday cake.

Labels: Misadventure