At 4.20AM on Sunday, Ms Nassida Nasir woke up in panic.
Her husband, Mohamed Taufik Zahar, was not at home as they had argued – and something felt wrong.
Frantic, the 32-year-old starting calling and texting him.
“C u nvr pick up my cal..im suspecting a lot of things… as long u are safe,” read one message at 4.22am.
Minutes later, Taufik, 34, would be stopped at a police checkpoint in Ardmore Park near Shangri-La Hotel, where a summit attended by defence chiefs was being held.
When he crashed his red Subaru Impreza through the roadblock, the police opened fire, killing him.
Officers found packets of heroin in the car. Taufik’s two passengers – Mohamed Ismail, 31, and Muhammad Syahid Mohamed Yasin, 26 – were arrested and, on Monday, charged with drug trafficking.
The police said Taufik was wanted for failing to attend court for an offence of criminal intimidation. He also had a criminal record.
The incident that made international headlines cost Ms Nassida the father of her young child. Yesterday, at her parents’ flat in Tampines, she told The Straits Times in a shaky voice about how she first met him in primary school, lost touch, but met again and started dating him two years ago.
Back then, Ms Nassida was a club dancer and Taufik worked as a nightclub bouncer.
“I danced at clubs, and he was a bit of a gangster,” she said. They would party nightly and take party drugs.
Then their relationship turned serious. “We stopped partying and started staying at home to enjoy each other’s company,” said Ms Nassida.
She became pregnant last year and they got married two months ago, just after their daughter was born.
“He’s stubborn. We were prepared for him to go (to prison) for a year,” said Ms Nassida, referring to his offence of criminal intimidation.
After that, they planned to start a new life.
Meanwhile, Taufik worked as a logistics mover, making about $60 a day.
He was passionate about cars but did not have a driver’s licence, she said. “He took the driving test three times and failed. Maybe God knew something like this would happen.”
Since she had a licence, Ms Nassida rented a Subaru for $260, planning to take the family to Sentosa on Sunday. Instead, they argued just after midnight and he stormed off with the car.
“I think what the police did was right but it’s not fair to me,” she said.
“I didn’t get a chance to kiss him goodbye. My daughter won’t get to see him when she grows up.”
Source: www.straitstimes.com
