Jail for man whose car hit elderly woman, causing part of her right leg to be amputated

SINGAPORE - An elderly woman had part of her right leg amputated after a car struck her in Seletar Expressway (SLE) in 2017.

Ong Jian Min, 25, a university undergraduate who was then working as a Grab driver, was sentenced on Monday (Nov 5) to a week's jail after pleading guilty to causing grievous hurt to Madam Yew Kwai Lin by driving negligently. The Singaporean was also disqualified from driving all classes of vehicles for two years.

The court heard that Madam Yew, 70, was in her husband’s car, travelling along the SLE towards the Central Expressway around 11.30pm on June 29 when it moved into the path of a taxi.

This led to a side swipe between the two vehicles and they came to a stop in the first lane.

Madam Yew, her husband and the cabby alighted to check the damage to their vehicles.

Mr Muhammad Yasin Mohamed Abdul Razak, 36, a witness in the case, was driving his car in the first lane when he saw the two stationary vehicles.

As the taxi was blocking his way, he switched on his left signal indicator before moving into the second lane to continue his journey.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Esther Tang said Mr Yasin was driving very slowly and, at times, was stationary as he prepared to switch lanes.

Soon after, Ong approached the same spot in a rented red Nissan Latio but failed to keep a proper lookout of the road ahead.

The DPP added: "By the time the accused realised the witness' vehicle was stationary with its left signal indicator switched on, the accused was too close and was travelling at too fast a speed that he could not stop his vehicle in time. To avoid colliding into the witness' vehicle, the accused jammed his brakes which caused the Nissan to skid."

Ong's car veered to the right and hit the centre guard railing of the expressway before hitting Madam Yew. She was pinned between the rear of the taxi and the front of Ong's vehicle.

The cabby moved his vehicle forward to free Madam Yew. She was taken to Tan Tock Seng Hospital where part of her right leg was amputated. She was hospitalised for 58 days, said DPP Tang.

Defence lawyer Amarjit Singh Sidhu told the court his client is remorseful and had tried to visit Madam Yew in hospital. But her family denied him the visit, Mr Singh said.

Ong is out on an $8,000 bail and ordered to surrender himself at the State Courts on Dec 10 to start serving his sentence.

This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission required for reproduction.