Thai Girl Who Lost Her Legs After Falling onto Mrt Track

Thai girl who lost her legs after falling onto MRT track takes the stand to seek compensation

By Amir Hussain

Updated 09:49 AM Oct 30, 2012

SINGAPORE - As the train approached Ang Mo Kio MRT Station on a Sunday morning in April last year, a large group of passengers quickly gathered behind her, before they surged to the edge of the platform, shoving others who were waiting behind the yellow safety line.

Regaining consciousness after losing her balance, she found herself lying on the tracks looking at the approaching train. Coming to once more, she realised that the train had run over her legs.

This was the testimony of Thai teenager Nitcharee Peneakchanasak, who lost her legs after the incident, as she took to the witness stand yesterday during the first day of her civil suit against train operator SMRT and the Land Transport Authority at the High Court.

However, under cross-examination by lawyer K Anparasan - who is representing both defendants - Nitcharee, who was 14 during the incident, agreed there was "no assertion or suggestion that there was contact" which resulted in the incident.

Nitcharee's father had filed a S$3.4-million suit against SMRT on her behalf in June last year, to pay for the 20 pairs of prosthetic legs she will need over her lifetime. The LTA was later added as another defendant.

The 16-year-old's case is that, despite standing behind the yellow line, the defendants took inadequate measures to prevent injuries she sustained when she fell over and onto the tracks, breaching the duty of care on their premises.

Among the issues to be determined by her lawyer, Mr Cosmas Gomez, is whether Nitcharee was standing behind the yellow line, whether it was drawn in a safe position and whether the installation of barriers