Singaporean who caused fatal NZ car crash sentenced to 4-months home detention, fined $25,400

A Singaporean man who caused a deadly car crash while on holiday in New Zealand last year was sentenced to four months of home detention and 200 hours of community service on Friday (June 3).

Lew Wei Kiong, 30, was also ordered to pay reparations of NZ$27,000 (S$25,400) for emotional harm for the accident, in which a motorcyclist was killed, the Otago Daily Times reported.

Lew, who is a senior analyst at the Energy Market Authority, had last month pleaded guilty to a charge of aggravated careless use of a motor vehicle causing death, and three charges of aggravated careless driving causing injury.

He was convicted of all four charges.

According to New Zealand media reports, he had been driving a rented Toyota Corolla onto the wrong side of State Highway 1, before crashing into two oncoming cars and two motorcycles on Nov 29 last year.

One of the motorcyclists, 39-year-old Craig Alan Chambers, died at the scene.

Lew's colleague, Ms Tay Hui Yun, was among three others who were seriously injured. She was subsequently airlifted to Dunedin Hospital and was transferred back to Singapore on Dec 19.

Lew had reportedly been driving at 120km per hour at the time of the crash, and did not brake.

According to Stuff.co.nz, Mr Chambers' wife, Nicola, addressed Lew directly in court, and told him: "You are solely responsible for my child being fatherless and me being a widow."

The Otago Daily Times reported that Judge Kevin Phillips had given Lew a lighter sentence due to his early guilty plea, and voluntary community work that he had already undertaken.

seanyap@sph.com.sg