Ex-SIA stewardess dies after slipping on wet tactile paving and undergoing surgery: ‘A life well lived, albeit too short’
A former Singapore Airlines (SIA) stewardess died unexpectedly after slipping on wet tactile paving and undergoing surgery for an ankle injury she sustained in the fall.
Speaking to Stomp, her good friend Ms Tay, a 39-year-old former stewardess, said that she had known the deceased, 40-year-old Venecia Ng, for more than 10 years through their time working together as SIA cabin crew.
After leaving the airline during the Covid-19 pandemic, Ng joined the healthcare industry, and was working at Thomson Medical Centre.
According to Tay, Ng was crossing the road on June 22 to get to the hospital building when she slipped and fell on wet yellow tactile paving — designed to help visually impaired pedestrians navigate public spaces.
The fall resulted in an ankle injury that required surgery at Thomson Medical Centre. Although Ng had expected to be discharged the day after the operation, she extended her stay after experiencing pain in her leg.
Two days after the surgery, Tay said Ng even joked on social media about the screws doctors had inserted into her leg, with the caption: “People get new tattoos. I went hardcore, I got new body parts.”
Shortly afterwards, she collapsed.
“She appeared well until around midnight, when she complained of breathlessness and collapsed shortly afterwards. She did not regain consciousness,” Tay told Stomp.
She added that doctors had performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation for about two hours after Ng’s heart stopped before placing her on an extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) machine.
Ng was then transferred to the Intensive Care Unit at Mount Elizabeth Novena Hospital, where she later died.
‘A life well lived’: Friend pays tribute
In an Instagram tribute posted on July 10, Tay wrote that a CT scan later revealed Ng’s lungs were “filled with blood clots, hence it caused the heart to stop”.
She also shared that many people turned up to pay their final respects to Ng, with some standing for more than an hour. Her cortege departed on the morning of July 11.
Speaking to Stomp, Tay said doctors believed the blood clots had originated in Ng’s leg before travelling to her lungs. She added that they suspected the clots developed after the surgery because Ng had not moved much following the procedure.
“A life well lived albeit too short. The hearts and lives she has touched with her sincerity and kindness brought so many people together tonight,” Tay wrote in her Instagram tribute.
In an Instagram Story posted on July 11, Tay recalled that staff who knew Ng told her she would “always fight for them” — a testament to her willingness to stand up for others and bring people together.
“I’m sure you had laughed loudly hearing all our conversations... my phone is bursting because of you,” she wrote.
Yet Ng’s sudden passing came as a shock to Tay, who described her to Stomp as “selfless, always ready to lend a helping hand, a supportive leader, and friend”.
She added: “She’s always cheerful, spreading positivity to people around her.
“It is heartbreaking and shocking that what began as an ankle injury ended in such a tragic loss.”
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