Woman killed by falling tree in Marsiling Park was wearing noise-cancelling earbuds

[The_King]

 

SINGAPORE - Had her sister not been wearing her earbuds and listening to music during her run, she might have heard the cracking sound of the tree falling and gotten out of the way in time, said Ms Gillian Loke, 44.

Her younger sister, Ms Loke Xiao Li, 38, was killed by a falling tree in Marsiling park on Thursday (Feb 18).

The Straits Times was shown the pair of white noise-cancelling earbuds Ms Loke was wearing during her run, during a visit to the four-room flat on Thursday evening.

The left earbud was damaged, while the right earbud was intact with the silicon protective jacket still in place.

Ms Loke's mother lay on a mattress in the living room and appeared inconsolable. Her husband sat beside her quietly, holding her hand.

Ms Loke Xiao Li lived with them and her brother in the flat. Ms Gillian Loke, her eyes red and swollen from crying, said her sister would often return home late as she worked long hours as a senior technical coordinator at Mediacorp.

"My sister was driven at work and a social butterfly. She had a way with people and was always surrounded by friends," said Ms Loke, who does freelance administrative work.

Her sister also had a passion for motorcycles and rode her bike to work everyday, despite her mother's worry for her safety.

The family found out about the accident from the police at around 11am this morning. They later went down to Marsiling Park but Ms Loke Xiao Li's body had already been taken away.

Ms Gillian Loke said: "It was a beautiful day at the park and the skies were clear. I never thought this would happen to my sister."

She added that her sister was "not an active person" and had only taken up running recently.

"I initially thought she had gotten into a road accident, no one expected her to be at the park."