AMK town council act blur after ill-maintained tree wrecks car

Car owner fumes over fallen tree



By Sophie Hong
my paper
Thursday, Sep 22, 2011

Claiming insurance for a wrecked car has become a nightmare for one motorist.

Ms Patricia Yeo, 37, told my paper yesterday that the Ang Mo Kio Town Council informed her husband on Tuesday that their car had been damaged by a fallen tree.

The Chevrolet Aveo had been parked in a Housing Board carpark in Ang Mo Kio Avenue 3, near where the couple live.

But what angered Ms Yeo, who works in the insurance industry, was that the town council had merely advised her husband to file an insurance claim.

The town council did not say whether the claim should be made against the town council or otherwise, Ms Yeo said.

She said: "I have insurance for my car but if we claim it, my premiums are going to be higher (in future)."

As the car was sent to the workshop just yesterday morning, repair costs have yet to be calculated. Ms Yeo believes it would not be a small sum.

It was raining on Tuesday but Ms Yeo's neighbours told her that there was no wind when the tree fell.

She also noted that "not a single branch" had fallen from the other trees in the area.

It made her suspect that the tree fell because it had been poorly maintained.

Ms Yeo said she also saw pruning work being carried out on other trees near the carpark yesterday morning.

The tree next to the fallen one was removed as well. Workers carrying out the job told her that that tree was "unhealthy".

The Ang Mo Kio Town Council did not respond to my paper's queries yesterday.

Lawyer Lee Terk Yang said that Ms Yeo could take action against the town council for not maintaining the trees.

However, the town council would most likely cite this as "an act of god" in its defence.

"In that case, she will have to prove that the trees in the area were 'unhealthy', but it will be an uphill task since the trees had already been pruned or removed," said Mr Lee.

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Town Council say, the tree is a plant, so its under AVA for maintenance

AVA would say, the tree is planted on land owned by SLA

SLA wuld say, the land is leased to HDB for the carpark

HDB says it has passed the ownership to Town Council

I think impossible to fight this case. Like the Lawyer said, they were pruning and removing unhealthy tree, translation doing their job in maintaining the trees so to accuse them of not maintaining the trees.

hi there


1. if you think you can get sheep in white to work.
2. think again, think twice and don't need to think!
3. only if you are some elite or who's who.
4. then the treatment is different.
5. oops! if you happen to be some ft, special privilegeds shall be extended.

red amoeba said:

Town Council say, the tree is a plant, so its under AVA for maintenance

AVA would say, the tree is planted on land owned by SLA

SLA wuld say, the land is leased to HDB for the carpark

HDB says it has passed the ownership to Town Council

Click to expand...

Then they all pass wind, and she is now repenting her decision to vote...

All goverment agencey will push around.

Who will pay ? TC or the insurer ?

Owner of the car will have to wait long long for any compensation... In the mean time, he will have to make do with our MRT and buses...

sta1100 said:

All goverment agencey will push around.

Click to expand...

Aka Tai-chi. A skill civil servants are experts in. It is in the DNA of govt organisations.

red amoeba said:

Town Council say, the tree is a plant, so its under AVA for maintenance

AVA would say, the tree is planted on land owned by SLA

SLA wuld say, the land is leased to HDB for the carpark

HDB says it has passed the ownership to Town Council

Click to expand...

Not AVA, its NPARKS, you knock down the same tree, the correct department will know how to write you a claim!

Singapore is the stupidest country in the world planting tall trees all over city not just parks just because LKY likes trees. NParks is HDB for crows, but crows no need downpayment or mortgage. Then they shit on your heads and cars, cro cro cro KPKB all day all night. Crows can replace RSAF for air raid sorties! Another suck Singapore story. Plant trees for crows, got money. Build more rental flats for poor and elderly, no money.

Build an $1.2bn artificial river also got money

HedgeTrader said:

Singapore is the stupidest country in the world planting tall trees all over city not just parks just because LKY likes trees. NParks is HDB for crows, but crows no need downpayment or mortgage. Then they shit on your heads and cars, cro cro cro KPKB all day all night. Crows can replace RSAF for air raid sorties! Another suck Singapore story. Plant trees for crows, got money. Build more rental flats for poor and elderly, no money.

Click to expand...

Lucky have tree. Should plant more tree. If you dont like tree next time dont walk under tree in hot sunny day.

This case just have to claim own insurance. Just count that unlucky.

Cestbon said:

This case just have to claim own insurance. Just count that unlucky.

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Act of God!, just like the accident junction of Thomson Hills & Yio Chu Kang Rd...not poor maintenance of the tree, drains etc...or once in a 25, 50, 100 years thing..

A city in a garden - yet another policy has return to roost.

Not NEA meh?

halsey02 said:

Act of God!, just like the accident junction of Thomson Hills & Yio Chu Kang Rd...not poor maintenance of the tree, drains etc...or once in a 25, 50, 100 years thing..

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Flood can be prevent if plan properly. Tree how? There no country in this world can prevent tree from unroof ot fall.
Sometime Sinkie just very unreasonable. Just claim the insurance using own car insurance that what insurance is for.
If cannot afford to pay full insurance after claim then don't driver I very happy if road have one less driver.

halsey02 said:

Act of God!, just like the accident junction of Thomson Hills & Yio Chu Kang Rd...not poor maintenance of the tree, drains etc...or once in a 25, 50, 100 years thing..

Click to expand...

If there ever is god, why do god go around falling trees and destroying properties, cars for that matter.:p

B.C. finds the Ang Mo Kio Town Council 100% liable for the damages caused by falling.

Rogue Trader said:

Car owner fumes over fallen tree

By Sophie Hong; my paper
Thursday, Sep 22, 2011
Claiming insurance for a wrecked car has become a nightmare for one motorist.
Ms Patricia Yeo, 37, told my paper yesterday that the Ang Mo Kio Town Council informed her husband on Tuesday that their car had been damaged by a fallen tree.
...

Click to expand...

B.C. finds the Ang Mo Kio Town Council 100% liable for the damages caused by falling tree.
Re: 'Car owner fumes over fallen tree' [mypaper, 22Sept2011]
According to the facts stated in this report: B.C thinks that in this case, the Town Council should bear 90- 97% (preferably 97%) of the repair cost of the car because:

• Government owns the land and parking areas and permits the Town Council to manage them in return for a various charges and fees (conservancy parking fees and penalties) on residents towards a safe, clean and effective living environment for visitors and the immediate community.
• The Town Council Management committee is chaired by the incumbent MP of the constituency, owes a duty of care to the residents and visitors to maintain the amenities within its constituency in a fit and operable state.
• The responsibilities of the Town Council include the maintenance of the trees beautifying and cooling the vicinity.
• There is on a balance of probabilities, a high possibility that both the tree that fell and the adjacent one were both so unhealthy that their removal should have been an urgency; and that by omitting such maintenance work, the Town Council failed its responsibilities. ("The tree next to the fallen one was removed as well. Workers carrying out the job told her that that tree was 'unhealthy'.". )
• Ms Yeo's car was crushed by a tree and there was no natural disaster then to excuse the fall of the tree.
• This incident should NOT have happened if the town council had hired qualified and certified arborists [wiki] to inspect and advise it regarding the maintenance of trees within Ang Mo Kio GRC/ constituency.

Ms Yeo might normally be nominally responsible for a 3-10% (preferably 3% responsibility) as an advice to the lay public that they too should be observant and take personal responsibility for their personal safety rather then being fully dependent on the government for such maintenance work getting done; and as a warning to opportunists against staging accidents with the intention of claiming compensation unnecessarily from the government.

In view of the town council's dereliction of core duties aggravated by its irresponsible and nonchalant attempt to make Ms Yeo and her insurance company take responsibility for the damages sustained, I find the Ang Mo Kio Town Council 100% liable for the damages to the properties consequent of its negligent conduct of town council duties.

Disclaimer/ disclosure:
B.C. is not a legally trained expert, but just a casual net surfer with an interest for simple justice, basic public administration and personal bible study.