River Valley fatal accident: Maid charged with rash act over death of 4-year-old girl

SINGAPORE: An Indonesian maid was charged on Wednesday (Nov 6) with causing grievous hurt by performing a rash act in an accident in River Valley that killed a four-year-old girl.

Lilyana Eva, 32, is accused of committing the offence shortly before 5pm on Jan 23.

According to court documents, she allegedly failed to ensure the safety of Zara Mei Orlic that day by bringing her to cross a road at an unsignalised junction without holding on to the child.

As a result, the girl ran across the road and suffered serious injuries after a car struck her. She died later that day.

On July 12, in Coroner Eddy Tham’s findings into Zara’s death, he said the Australian girl was on her way home from pre-school with Lilyana.

Zara had walked a short distance ahead of the maid, who was carrying school bags and was holding the hand of Zara’s two-year-old sister.

Zara ran across Institution Hill in River Valley and did not notice an oncoming car from her left.

Coroner Tham said the girl, who was just 1m tall, was completely obscured by a stationary vehicle nearby.

He added: “The maid saw oncoming traffic on the second lane, but it was too late. By then, the car had collided into Zara and tragically ran over her body.”

He also found that the car driver, a 40-year-old Australian woman, who was arrested after the incident, could not have detected Zara’s presence as she ran across the road.

The woman was driving home after picking up her two children from school. She suddenly felt her car had hit and gone over something.

She realised the vehicle had hit a child when she checked her rear-view mirror.

Lilyana and the driver rushed towards Zara, who was bleeding from her nose and mouth.

The maid called the girl’s father who rushed to the scene. A receptionist working in a nearby school called for an ambulance.

After Zara was taken to Singapore General Hospital, doctors told her parents she was unlikely to survive.

Zara was pronounced dead at 6.45pm that day. The autopsy revealed the cause of her death was head injury.

Lilyana had begun working for the Orlic family in October 2023.

Through an Indonesian interpreter, Lilyana told the court on Nov 6 that she intends to engage a lawyer.

Her case has been adjourned to Nov 13.

Offenders convicted of causing grievous hurt to another person while performing a rash act can be jailed for up to four years and fined up to $10,000.

Seventy-three people died in the first half of 2024 in road traffic accidents – two more than the 71 deaths in the same period last year. – The Straits Times/ANN