Six-year-old girl killed in Chinatown accident buried in Jakarta in emotional ceremony
The body of the six-year-old Indonesian girl who was killed in a traffic accident near Chinatown's Buddha Tooth Relic Temple has been buried in her home city of Jakarta.
The accident occurred on Feb 6 at around 11.40am when a car struck two pedestrians — the girl and her mother — at the exit of an open-air carpark outside the temple.
The girl was caught under the wheel of the car and later died in hospital from her injuries.
A 38-year-old female driver was arrested for driving without reasonable consideration, causing death. Police investigations are ongoing.
Girl was named Sheyna, funeral livestreamed by aunt
According to The Straits Times, the girl is identified in various Indonesian media reports as Sheyna Lashira Smaradiani, and her mother as Raisha Anindra Pascasiswi.
Shin Min Daily News reported that the girl's nickname is Nana. She and her family had travelled to Singapore from Indonesia for a holiday.
Her family collected her body from the mortuary on the afternoon of Feb 7. The following morning, they flew back to Jakarta, where funeral rites were held soon after.
According to reports by Indonesian media, numerous relatives and friends came to pay their respects after learning what happened.
Over a dozen wreaths bearing messages of grief and remembrance were placed at the funeral site.
The funeral, which was attended by more than 80 relatives and friends, was conducted according to Islamic rites. The girl's aunt also livestreamed parts of the funeral on Instagram.
A man dressed in black, believed to be Sheyna's father, was seen repeatedly bending over the coffin and weeping. Family members nearby were also visibly emotional, with many breaking down in tears.
According to Shin Min, Sheyna's funeral portrait was taken from a photoshoot celebrating her sixth birthday in November. In the picture, she wore a flower crown and a pair of purple wings.
After she was laid to rest, her father scattered red flowers over the grave. Attendees also scattered red flowers, placed sunflowers near the tombstone and arranged white flower petals in a heart shape.
Some held photographs of Sheyna taken when she was two years old.
Her aunt also shared a picture of the flowers, notes, and small backpack that were left at the accident site.
Girl was well-travelled, been to Singapore before
Sheyna often travelled with her parents, and had visited destinations including Hong Kong, Japan and Macau.
Posts on her mother's Instagram account documented family travels and birthday celebrations over the years. Other posts show the mother-daughter pair wearing matching outfits.
The girl also had an Instagram account run by her mother, capturing moments from her growing-up years.
This was not the family's first visit to Singapore. In an August 2022 post, Sheyna and her mother posed for a photo in front of Jewel Changi Airport's Rain Vortex.
Mother hospitalised with internal injuries
Ms Raisha's brother-in-law, Mr Satrio Wicaksono, told Indonesian media that the girl's mother remains warded at Singapore General Hospital. She suffered internal bleeding, as well as fractures to her ribs and hips, but is in stable condition and accompanied by relatives.
He also expressed gratitude to the Indonesian Embassy in Singapore for assisting the family with arrangements to repatriate Sheyna's remains.
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