On a rainy day in 2008, Aw Kian Chow slipped and fell on a sloping ramp that was part of a sheltered walkway near his home in Sembawang Drive. The accident fractured his spine and paralysed him from the neck down, causing the former freelance accountant to be bedridden. His wife, 47-year-old Angeline Aw, became the sole breadwinner for the family of four, and had to hire two caretakers for her husband.
In 2011, he sued the Sembawang Town Council for allegedly failing to provide a safe walkway. They replied to say that it was properly maintained, and while they were sympathetic to his plight, they could not be held responsible for his fall. In 2013, it is believed that the case came to an abrupt end, and the matter was resolved with confidential terms.