Driver dozed off at wheel

That fateful day on May 4, 2013, he was on his way home from supper at about 4.30am after a few drinks.

Having stayed out the whole night and not slept for 20 hours, Lim Wei Hong found himself nodding off at the wheel.

He cranked up the volume of his radio in a bid to stay awake but eventually dozed off.

As a result, his vehicle veered to the right and crashed into a parked taxi on a service road connecting to Marine Parade Road.

It left the cabby, Mr Mohamed Amin Abdul Manap, 56, who was resting inside the vehicle, seriously injured and hospitalised for 11 months.

A paralysed Mr Mohamed Amin died on April 18 the next year from a chest infection.

Yesterday, Lim, 27, a sales executive, was jailed two months and banned from driving for five years for causing grievous hurt through a negligent act.

Court papers said that Lim had worked long hours for two days prior to the accident.

That morning, he was driving to his home in Marine Parade from Holland Village, where he had just met a friend for supper.

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He had earlier also drank about four glasses of hard liquor.

Following the accident, Mr Mohamed Amin was taken to Changi General Hospital (CGH) and underwent surgery for his injuries.

His prolonged stay at CGH and Parkway East Hospital was complicated by a series of infections.

A Health Sciences Authority report stated that Mr Mohamed Amin's immobilisation had increased the risk of chest infection.

He died from pneumonia following a spine injury sustained from the accident.

Yesterday, District Judge Hamidah Ibrahim said Lim had acted irresponsibly, causing someone to pay the price.

"The worst thing is that the deceased was just resting and he was doing nothing," she said, adding that the aggravating factors were overwhelming.

For causing grievous hurt through a negligent act, Lim could have been jailed up to four years or fined up to $10,000, or both.

This article was first published on May 16, 2015.
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