[Watch] A Car Hit Paralympian Koh Lee Peng And Drove Off, The Crying Video Only Caught What Came After

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It had been raining, business was slow, and for Koh Lee Peng, it was simply one thing too many.

In the weeks before that evening on a Bukit Bintang street, she had spent a week in hospital.

Then a car hit her, destroyed her wheelchair, and the driver left without apologising.

Now the rain was keeping customers away, so she cried; she did not know anyone was filming.

The video spread, and within 24 hours, strangers had pooled RM3,150 for her.

Many assumed it was about the wheelchair, but it was more than that.

A Car Hit Her, And The Driver Left

Koh, 50-something, is a former Malaysian Paralympic swimmer who won multiple gold and silver medals at the ASEAN Para Games, representing the country at regional competitions.

Today, she wakes up at 7.25 am, takes the MRT from Taman Suntex, and spends the day selling tissue paper and handicrafts near Bukit Bintang.

She usually gets home past 9.30 pm.

On 16 April, on her way to the MRT station, a car hit her, and she was thrown backwards out of her wheelchair.

The driver did not help her up, even told her she should not have been crossing the road at that time, citing a school run as his reason for leaving, and drove off.

No apology, no compensation and no one caught the plate.

The wheelchair — an iron-frame chair sponsored by a Chinese-language newspaper, used for years — was destroyed in the collision.

RM3,150 And A Plastic Chair

The crying video was filmed weeks later, on a rainy evening when business was slow.

By then, Koh had already spent a week in hospital earlier this year due to a health issue, survived the accident, and was managing daily life on an income that depends entirely on foot traffic and weather.

“Even the strongest person has moments of weakness,” she told Oriental Daily.

The National Athletes Welfare Foundation (YAKEB) provided a replacement wheelchair shortly after the accident, but within a week, screws had begun to loosen; the chair is plastic.

A durable wheelchair suitable for long-term daily use costs approximately RM11,000 and lasts around five years.

The RM3,150 raised by the public is not enough to cover one.

Seventeen People, RM45,000 A Month, One Rainy Week

Koh is not living alone; she is part of a group of around 17 disabled individuals who live and work together — some sell outside, others make handicrafts such as cloth bags and hair accessories from home.

Around nine of them share a residence, with combined monthly expenses running between RM35,000 and RM45,000.

During a recent stretch of rainy days, the group could only cover rent, food, and medical bills — there was nothing left for wages.

Some have asked why Koh does not simply find employment.

She is in her 50s, unable to read and unfamiliar with technology, and, after retirement, found that the daily commute posed safety risks given her mobility.

She also declined an offer of subsidised housing — it would have required her to stay indoors.

Help Has Come, The Question Is Whether It Fits

She said that if she had to stay home every day and could not go out, she would not be happy — her years of athletic training had prepared her for physical hardship, and she intends to keep working.

Koh was also careful to note that the government has not been entirely absent: authorities previously helped her group secure housing along Jalan Imbi and covered part of the deposit and rent, though the arrangement ended when the RM3,000 monthly rent became unsustainable.

Following the viral video, National Athletes Welfare Foundation (YAKEB) chairman Datuk Ahmad Shapawi Ismail clarified that Koh has received consistent welfare and medical assistance since 2019, including an electric wheelchair handed over on 20 April — an upgrade from the replacement chair provided in the immediate aftermath of the accident.

The foundation is also coordinating her medical care, including appointments with a neurology specialist at Kuala Lumpur Hospital.

Financially, she receives more than RM400 a month from the Social Welfare Department, a six-month RM500 allowance from YAKEB, and is set to receive RM3,000 from the Association of Malay Importers and Traders of Motor Vehicles Malaysia (PEKEMA) this July.

Ahmad Shapawi noted that Koh had previously been offered a business kiosk at an LRT station but declined — consistent with her preference to remain mobile and outdoors.

READ MORE: [Watch] Former Paralympic Champion Koh Lee Peng Seen Crying in Bukit Bintang, Raising Fresh Concern Over Athlete Welfare

This article is based primarily on original reporting and interviews by Oriental Daily (東方日報).

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