Arlina Arshad
The Straits Times
April 8, 2026
“We are seen. We are held. We are loved.”
With these words, the family of an Indonesian girl who died in an accident in Singapore’s Chinatown thanked members of the public, medical staff, and officials in Singapore and Indonesia for their support.
In a heartfelt four-page statement issued on April 6 through their lawyers, Mr Ashar Ardianto and Ms Raisha Anindra paid tribute to their six-year-old daughter Sheyna Lashira Smaradiani, who died on Feb 6.
The Indonesian Embassy in Singapore previously said that Sheyna died from cranio-cerebral injuries, as determined by a hospital autopsy. Her remains were repatriated to Indonesia on the morning of Feb 8 and she was buried in the Tanah Kusir cemetery in South Jakarta later that day.
On April 8, the driver, a 38-year-old woman, was charged in Singapore’s State Courts with two counts of driving without due care and attention, causing death and grievous hurt.
Prosecutors said she had allegedly failed to keep a proper lookout while making a right turn out of an open-air carpark in Spring Street, knocking into two pedestrians near the Buddha Tooth Relic Temple.
The case was adjourned for six weeks for investigations to continue. It will be heard again at a pre-trial conference on May 13. A gag order was granted as the woman’s six-year-old son, who was in the car at the time, is a potential witness. The woman’s lawyer has applied for a gag order to be imposed under the Children and Young Persons Act.
According to the couple’s statement, the family had been transiting through Singapore from Japan en route to Indonesia. On the morning of Feb 6, the family had breakfast near their hotel before heading out around midday to explore the area. The couple were travelling with their two children and Mr Ashar’s mother.
