Jail and driving ban for PIE crash

A MALAYSIAN tipper truck driver responsible for a chain collision involving 12 other vehicles along the Pan-Island Expressway (PIE) was jailed for 10 weeks yesterday.

Mohammad Shafiq Mohmad Saidi, 21, was also banned from driving for two years. The accident, which left two men seriously hurt, forced the closure of two lanes and caused a huge traffic jam on Aug 27 last year.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Dillon Kok said the grossly negligent manner of driving by Shafiq had caused serious consequences to persons and property.

The momentum of the eight-wheeled truck was like a "missile barrelling its way through traffic", he argued. "An accident of this scale is rare, if not unprecedented," he added, pressing for at least three months' jail and a ban as the accused did not have a Singapore driving licence.

Shafiq was behind the wheel of the sand-laden truck that evening when he failed to pay enough attention to traffic. He surged forward despite the fact that other vehicles were moving slowly or had come to a stop.

He crashed into a stationary lorry driven by Mr Lim Meow Hong, 62, who suffered multiple fractures and was warded for 35 days.

His front-seat passenger, a Bangladeshi national, was also seriously injured and warded for six days.

This article was first published on Feb 13, 2015.
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