7-year-old girl’s death after minibus struck her ruled a road traffic-related accident一名7岁女孩被小巴撞击后身亡，事故被判定为交通事故。
The state coroner said pedestrians might not be seen by drivers because of the height of some bushes and walls. Read more at straitstimes.com.
Neela Kanagasundaram told reporters that her daughter, the late Nivya Rameshwar was a loving, compassionate and kind girl.
PHOTO: COURTESY OF NEELA KANAGASUNDARAM
Published Oct 07, 2026, 07:30 PM
Updated Oct 07, 2026, 07:30 PM
Nivya Rameshwar, 7, was killed after a minibus hit her at The Topiary condominum in Sengkang on Aug 15, 2024.
During an inquiry into her death, the court heard Phua Hak Heong was driving the vehicle when the incident occurred.
Nivya, who suffered chest and abdominal injuries, was rushed to Sengkang General Hospital but died later.
SINGAPORE – The death of a seven-year-old girl after a minibus struck her at a Sengkang condominium in 2024 was ruled a “road traffic-related accident” by the state coroner on Oct 7.
State Coroner Adam Nakhoda also said pedestrians might not be seen by drivers in oncoming vehicles because of the height of some bushes and walls within the property.
The accident took place at around 6.20am on Aug 15, 2024, and Nivya Rameshwar died in hospital about an hour later.
In an inquiry into the case in February 2025 , Station Inspector Jeff Tan, a Traffic Police investigation officer (IO), told the court about what happened on the day of the tragedy.
According to Nivya’s family domestic helper, Sivakumar Ilavarasi, she had taken the girl to a carpark service road at their condominium block at The Topiary in Fernvale Lane to wait for her school bus .
She then told the child to wait for her at a gate of their block while she placed the girl’s school bags on the opposite side of the road.
The helper also said she would come back to carry Nivya .
Sivakumar was halfway across the road when she turned back and saw the girl still standing at the gate.
But Niyva was not there after the helper placed the bags down and turned around again.
During the inquiry, the court heard that minibus driver Phua Hak Heong, 68, had just picked up a student at another block within the condominium complex at around the same time. He was not picking up Nivya.
Phua was driving along the service road and slowed down when he saw Sivakumar crossing from his right to his left.
However, he told the authorities that he did not see Nivya.
He had said he felt an impact on the front right side of the minibus, and realised he had hit someone.
Sivakumar ran to the girl and cried for help.
Hearing the screams, Nivya’s father, Rameshwar Khirodhar, went to a window and saw the helper cradling Nivya. He then rushed down to check on his daughter .
His wife, Neela Kanagasundaram, who is a nurse, also hurried down.
Their neighbour alerted the authorities, the court heard.
Nivya, who suffered chest and abdominal injuries, was rushed to Sengkang General Hospital but died at around 7.30am.
Phua was arrested later that day, and he has not been charged in court.
A tearful Neela spoke to reporters outside the courtroom after the hearing ended on Oct 7 .
Her voice cracked with emotion when she said that Nivya was a kind, compassionate and loving girl who could light up a room with her smile.
She added: “For myself, Every day, I cry... It’s painful.”
She also said it is time for the authorities to decide what needs to be done.
Shaffiq Alkhatib is The Straits Times’ court correspondent, covering mainly criminal cases heard at the State Courts.
尼拉·卡纳加桑达拉姆告诉记者，她已故的女儿尼维亚·拉梅什瓦尔是一个充满爱心、富有同情心和善良的女孩。
照片：NEELA KANAGASUNDARAM 提供
发布于2026年10月7日晚上7:30
更新于2026年10月7日晚上7:30
2024年8月15日，7岁的尼维亚·拉梅什瓦尔在盛港的The Topiary公寓被一辆小巴撞倒身亡。
在对她的死因进行调查时，法庭获悉事发时 Phua Hak Heong 正在驾驶车辆。
妮维娅胸部和腹部受伤，被紧急送往盛港综合医院，但后来不幸去世。
新加坡——2024 年，一名七岁女童在盛港一处公寓被小巴撞倒身亡。10 月 7 日，州验尸官裁定此案为“与道路交通有关的事故”。
州验尸官亚当·纳霍达还表示，由于该处房产内一些灌木丛和围墙很高，迎面驶来的车辆上的司机可能看不到行人。
事故发生在 2024 年 8 月 15 日上午 6 点 20 分左右，Nivya Rameshwar 大约一小时后在医院去世。
在 2025 年 2 月对该案的调查中，交通警察调查员 Jeff Tan 警督向法庭讲述了悲剧发生当天的情况。
据尼维亚家的佣人西瓦库玛·伊拉瓦拉西说，她带着尼维亚来到他们位于费恩维尔巷的托皮亚里公寓楼的停车场服务道路，等校车。
然后她让孩子在他们小区的门口等她，自己则把女孩的书包放在马路对面。
帮工还说她会回来把妮维娅抱走。
希瓦库玛尔走到马路中间时回头一看，发现那个女孩还站在门口。
但当帮工放下袋子转身离开时，妮娃已经不在那里了。
庭审期间，法庭获悉，68岁的巴士司机傅学雄（Phua Hak Heong）几乎在同一时间刚刚在公寓楼的另一栋楼接了一名学生。他接的并非妮维娅。
Phua当时正沿着辅路行驶，当他看到Sivakumar从他的右侧横穿到左侧时，便放慢了速度。
然而，他告诉当局，他没有见到妮维娅。
他说他感觉小巴右前方受到撞击，意识到自己撞到了人。
希瓦库玛尔跑到女孩身边，哭着求救。
听到尖叫声，妮维娅的父亲拉梅什瓦尔·基罗达尔走到窗边，看到佣人抱着妮维娅。他随即冲下楼去查看女儿的情况。
他的妻子尼拉·卡纳加桑达拉姆是一名护士，也匆匆赶了下来。
法庭获悉，他们的邻居向当局报了警。
妮维娅胸部和腹部受伤，被紧急送往盛港综合医院，但于早上 7 点 30 分左右去世。
Phua当天晚些时候被捕，但尚未被法院起诉。
10 月 7 日庭审结束后，泪流满面的尼拉在法庭外接受了记者的采访。
她说妮维娅是一个善良、富有同情心和爱心的女孩，她的笑容能照亮整个房间，说着说着，她的声音都哽咽了。
她补充道：“就我个人而言，我每天都在哭……这很痛苦。”
她还表示，现在是当局决定需要采取什么措施的时候了。
沙菲克·阿尔哈提卜是《海峡时报》的法庭记者，主要报道国家法院审理的刑事案件。