Ex-bus driver jailed for fatal accident

Ex-bus driver jailed for fatal accident

A former bus driver who negligently caused the death of a woman was jailed for three weeks and banned from driving for five years on Monday.

Chan Mun Hing, 48, failed to give way to Madam Zhang Huirui when turning left on a green light at the junction of Clementi Avenue 3 and Commonwealth Avenue West on April 23 last year.

Madam Zhang, 42, was crossing at the green pedestrian light when the SBS bus struck her.

She was pinned under the front wheel of the double-decker and dragged for 10.2m before it came to a stop.

Madam Zhang, the wife of National University of Singapore associate professor Gong Jiangbin, suffered severe injuries, including skeletal fractures.

District Judge Wong Choon Ning considered video footage from the bus that showed Chan had started to make the turn even though pedestrians could still be seen crossing from the other side.

The judge said this contradicted defence lawyer Lim Hin Chye's argument that Chan had started to move the bus only when he saw the crossing was clear.

Mr Lim sought a jail term of less than a week.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Allison Phua called for a term of at least two weeks, noting that Chan was driving a heavy vehicle and the accident occurred despite Madam Zhang having right of way.

The video showed the housewife had crossed a significant portion of the road before being hit, the DPP said.

The maximum penalty for causing death by a negligent act is a jail term of two years and a fine.

 


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