Carpooling: Man accidentally drives car into swimming pool at Hillview condo during downpour

[UPDATE March 3] The management of The Hillside condo has issued a statement regarding the incident, sharing that the driver involved had ignored instructions by security to reverse his car when he entered a pedestrian-only pathway.

The management also said the condo will be seeking damages from Gojek.

According to the statement, the driver was a man and was ferrying a woman who was visiting her family at the condo.

The condo's CCTV footage showed that the driver "hit some potted plants to the left of the pathway's entrance, reversed, then moved forward again [and] hit some plants on the right side of the pathway". 

"He then reversed again and drove slowly into the pathway."

A security guard then told the driver to reverse his car but was ignored, the management noted.

The footage then showed that the driver continued going forward before turning right into the wading pool. 

The management said it will be "seeking legal advice to claim for property damage that the car has caused". 

In a report by The Straits Times, a Gojek spokesman said that the company is looking into the case, and in the process of speaking to the customer and driver to resolve the issue and take necessary action.

"The safety and well-being of our customers and driver-partners is our utmost concern, and we do not condone any behaviour that violates our policies," said the spokesman.

"Our policies around safety and conduct are clearly emphasised during the driver-partner onboarding process."

Carpooling is a useful way of getting around. 

But one private-hire driver seemed to have taken the term too literally by driving his vehicle and passenger into a swimming pool at a condo. 

The incident was shared in a TikTok video uploaded on Tuesday (Feb 28) by Charlie Tan Liang Yu. 

In the 17-second clip, a white car was seen with its front part partially submerged inside a pool at The Hillside condo located along Upper Bukit Timah Road amid a heavy downpour. 

"A new meaning to what carpooling means," joked 25-year-old Tan in the captions. 

[embed]https://www.tiktok.com/@marketplaceforads/video/7205203175907855623?_r=1&_t=8aGaO61QJg9[/embed]

Speaking to AsiaOne, Tan, a resident of the condo, said the incident happened last night (Feb 28) at around 9pm when it was pouring. 

He shared that there was a small pedestrian pathway at the corner of the estate leading to the pool. 

Tan said that he was later told by the chairman of the condo's management council that the passenger in the vehicle had allegedly told the driver to follow that pathway.

So, the latter simply followed instructions. 

Upon witnessing this, a security guard told the driver that this section of the condo was not meant for vehicles and asked the driver to reverse his car. 

The driver then attempted a three-point turn but "he drove onto the grass, stepped on the gas pedal and went into the pool", recounted Tan. 

"The moment the first two wheels went in, he was stuck already and couldn't reverse his car."

Eventually, a tow truck arrived at 12am to pull the white car out of the water, said Tan.

Car or boat?

Back in March 2019, another car landed in the children's swimming pool of a condominium in Geylang.

That vehicle also happened to be a private hire car, and the driver had driven into the condo compound to pick up a passenger. 

The shocked driver eventually asked the condominium security guards for help, and the car was towed away three hours later.

melissateo@asiaone.com

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