A FEMALE airport employee suffered serious brain injury after she fell off from a buggy at Changi Airport almost a year ago.

On Monday, Ms Larina Ong Mei Yan's colleague at the time, Don Lim Hai Foong, 23, was jailed for nine months after he admitted to causing her grievous hurt by making an abrupt left turn while driving the buggy on March 26 last year.

A district court heard that Ms Ong, 24, was at the rear right seat of the buggy with her back towards a woman colleague sitting next to Lim on the wheel when the accident happened at around 3.20am. The trio earlier had supper at Terminal 1.

When they were near the transit area at Terminal 2, Lim jokingly said that he would knock the information counter and continued to drive towards it.

But before reaching the counter, he made an abrupt left turn, causing Ms Ong to fall off from the buggy.

She was admitted to Changi General Hospital where she was warded until April 18.

Police prosecutor Raj Kishore Rai highlighted that the victim had a fall in March last year, and up to today, was still not working.

He told District Judge Hamidah Ibrahim that according to the doctor, she would have to continue treatment at a specialist's clinic due to her severe brain injury.

Lim, who is now in national service, could have been jailed for up to two years or fined up to $1,000 or both for causing grievous hurt by doing any act so rashly or negligently as to endanger life or the personal safety of others.