The infamous bend at Upper East Coast Road and Bedok Road

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Back in those days, it was all too common for us Bedok kampong folk to witness road accidents at that notorious sharp bend where Upper East Coast Road meets Bedok Road. More than once, we saw the aftermath of cars that tried to take that corner at high speed - only to skid out of control and shoot straight ahead into the shop front beyond the bend.

A recent chat with our old neighbour Ron Ho, who lived less than a hundred metres from that treacherous corner, unlocked vivid memories of the accidents he personally witnessed - recollections so clear he can still picture them as if they happened yesterday.

Ron shared one such incident: “Around 1961, one morning I heard a loud screeching from a motorbike, followed by a bang. I ran out of my house and saw that it had skidded and crashed into the pillar of the second coffee shop from the right. The rider was injured, cupping his right hand over his right eye, bloodied, while his female pillion rider had fainted but was not hurt.”

But the most disconcerting memory came from a Sunday in April 1962 - the gruesome aftermath of a head‑on collision between a van and a white car. According to The Straits Times the next day, the car was driven by a physician who had attempted to overtake a stationary bus around that bend on his way towards Siglap.

Ron recalled: “The police from the nearby Bedok Balai Polis came to manage the situation and stopped us kids from going near the accident scene. From the kitchen accessories found in the van, we learnt it was on its way back to the restaurant after delivering cooked food for a nearby beach function.”

Rest in peace, Dr Loh, who tragically suffered a fatal heart attack during the collision. We are grateful for the work you had likely just completed - a house visit that made someone’s life a little more comfortable - before your own life was so needlessly lost on that bend.

AI impression and not to scale


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