'Safe' driver fined for causing accident after not giving way

A lorry driver was fined $4,000 yesterday for not giving way to a motorcyclist which resulted in an accident that left the rider seriously hurt.

A district court heard that Cho Kiang Lam, 64, was driving out of a Jurong construction site at Buroh Crescent on Sept 26 last year.

He made a right turn to exit the construction site, but did not give way to vehicles driving along the road that had the right of way.

At the same time, Mr Tang Kok Peng, 27, a Malaysian, was riding along Buroh Crescent in the direction of Tanjong Kling Road.

He was unable to brake in time and crashed into Cho's lorry.

Mr Tang fell to the road and became unconscious as his motorcycle continued skidding and ended up crashing into another lorry.

Mr Tang was taken to the National University Hospital where he was found to have suffered facial and neck fractures, as well as injuries to his face and eyes. He was warded for 21 days and discharged on Oct 16.

At the time of the accident, the weather was fine, the road surface was dry and visibility was clear, court papers said.

Yesterday, Cho admitted to one count of committing a negligent act that endangered human life.

Cho, who was unrepresented, said in mitigation that he had always been a safe driver and produced a letter of commendation from the Traffic Police that stated he had not committed a traffic violation in the past five years. He could have been jailed up to two years and/or fined up to $5,000.

rloh@sph.com.sg

This article was first published on Aug 15, 2015.
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