SINGAPORE – While making a right turn, a car driver allegedly hit a power-assisted bicycle (PAB) at a cross junction, injuring both the rider and the person riding pillion.
Lee Chee Guan, 48, was charged on July 24 with two counts of driving without reasonable consideration for other road users – one for causing grievous hurt and one for causing hurt.
Lee was at the cross junction of Havelock Road and Outram Road on Oct 9, 2023, at 8.59pm when he purportedly failed to give way and his car collided into the PAB, which was heading straight from the opposite direction.
Mr Muhammed Alif Rose Lee, 43, suffered grievous hurt, while Ms Nurhayati Roslan, 34, who was riding pillion, was hurt. Court documents did not state their exact injuries.
Lee was one of six drivers hauled to court on July 24 for alleged involvement in traffic accidents that caused grievous hurt to victims.
The six accidents took place within a period of seven months, from June 2023 to Jan 2024.
In a statement issued on July 24, the Traffic Police urged all motorists to abide by traffic rules and said it would continue to act firmly against errant motorists.
In another case, a car driven by Pauline Kay Shu Liang, 60, allegedly veered into the opposite lane in Bukit Batok East Avenue 5 on Jan 3 and hit a parked lorry.
The two car passengers – Madam Soh Kim Hoe, 82, and Ms Naw Ei Ei Soe, 27 – were injured. Court documents did not state their relationship with each other.
In another case, van driver Ang Kok Lam, 48, was travelling in Buangkok East Drive on June 4, 2023, when his vehicle allegedly hit the rear of a car, causing it to surge forward and hit a taxi. The car driver suffered grievous injuries.
In the three other cases, the victims were motorcyclists who were also grievously hurt.
On June 4, 2023, driver Saw Sin Cheong, 66, purportedly beat the red light at the junction of Central Boulevard and Straits View and his car hit motorcyclist Muhammad Firdaus Abdullah, 33.
Another offender, Tricia Tang Bee Pheng, 50, was said to be changing lanes in Changi South Avenue 1 on Oct 19, 2023, when her car hit motorcyclist Muhammad Nazri Roslan, 29.
In the last case, Lee Kok Lian, 57, was making a U-turn in Upper Bukit Timah Road on Sept 25, 2023, when his car allegedly hit motorcyclist Khalid Mohamad Gaous, 25.
All six drivers were offered bail of $10,000. Their cases are scheduled to be heard again in August.
There were more traffic accidents resulting in injuries and fatalities in 2023 compared with 2022, according to the Traffic Police’s annual report in February.
The number of fatal accidents jumped 26 per cent, from 104 cases in 2022 to 131 cases in 2023, while there were 6,944 accidents that resulted in injuries in 2023, a 2.4 per cent increase from 6,779 in 2022.
To tackle this, the Traffic Police said it would increase the composition sums and demerit points for certain offences. More details will be announced later in 2024.
Currently, an offender convicted of dangerous driving causing grievous hurt could be jailed for between one and five years and disqualified from driving.
The offence of driving without due care or reasonable consideration carries a jail term of up to 12 months and a fine of up to $2,500 if it causes hurt. If an accident causes grievous hurt, an offender faces a maximum jail term of two years and a maximum fine of $5,000.