Man jailed for fatal collision with elderly pedestrian, judge says drivers go too fast in housing estates
While a video shown in court did not show the driver speeding, there was no honking or braking before he hit Mr Wong, the judge said.
by Davina Tham · CNA · JoinSINGAPORE: A 56-year-old man was on Monday (Nov 25) jailed for 150 days for careless driving that resulted in the death of a 79-year-old pedestrian.
Tan Yee Keong was also disqualified from driving for eight years after his release, after pleading guilty to a single charge under the Road Traffic Act.
In his sentencing remarks, District Judge John Ng observed that most drivers in Singapore tend to go "too fast" in housing estates.
The judge said this was why traffic-calming measures were being introduced on more roads, including the incident location, and that this was a "well-spent" expense.
The fatal accident occurred near Block 244, Serangoon Avenue 2 on Jun 29, 2023 at about 4.30pm.
That portion of Serangoon Avenue 2 is a two-way road divided by a pedestrian kerb, with two lanes on each side of the road.
The victim, Mr John Wong Kie Choon, had almost finished crossing the entire road when he was hit by Tan's car after Tan failed to notice him.
Mr Wong was flung onto the road by the impact. He was taken to hospital, where he suffered a cardiac arrest and was pronounced dead that evening.
He sustained severe traumatic brain injury and multiple rib fractures, which led to the cardiac arrest. His cause of death was multiple injuries consistent with those sustained in a road traffic accident.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Yee Jia Rong asked for six to nine months' imprisonment for Tan.
He said the main factor in Tan's culpability was how late he saw Mr Wong, as he did not notice the elderly man on the road until they collided.
He said that Mr Wong was walking at a normal speed and had almost finished crossing the two-lane road, indicating the amount of time for which Tan failed to notice him.
Defence lawyer Laurence Goh, who asked for two months' jail, said that Tan did not run away from the scene but stayed with Mr Wong until the ambulance arrived.
The incident had "traumatised" Tan, who wanted to atone for his actions and had attended Mr Wong's wake at the risk of being scolded by his family.
"Although they have forgiven him, he has not forgiven himself," Mr Goh said, referring to the victim's family.
The lawyer also said that the collision happened at a bend in the road where there were rows of trees, which could make it hard to see someone.
Mr Goh said that after the accident, the trees were chopped down, the road was widened and the area was designated a Silver Zone.
A Silver Zone is where traffic-calming measures and other road safety measures are implemented in areas with a high proportion of senior residents or where there have been past accidents involving seniors.
During arguments on the sentence, Judge Ng asked to see a video of the collision that was captured by a police camera at a bus stop opposite the incident location.
After the video was played in court, the judge noted that the accident happened within a housing estate and said: "Actually, most of us I think travel on housing estate roads too fast."
He said that curved roads like Serangoon Avenue 2 were like "taking an S course", referring to a section of the route in driving tests, and that vehicles were supposed to slow down.
While the video did not show Tan speeding, there was no honking or braking before he hit Mr Wong, the judge said.
"For whatever reason, your client completely missed the person crossing the road," he told Mr Goh, adding that the driver is supposed to make sure the way ahead of the vehicle is clear.
He also said that the incident location was only at the beginning of the bend, and agreed with the prosecution that Tan should have been able to spot Mr Wong.
But the judge also tempered his comments to the offender.
"If you sit here long enough you will realise accidents happen. Nobody wants it to happen," he said, referring to the judge's bench in the Traffic Court.
Judge Ng said the court was trying to send out a signal to everyone, including pedestrians, to be mindful of other road users.
"It's not just oh, green light I go, red light I stop, and then if it's green light I can go anytime," he said.
He added that this was why the speed enforcement function in red-light cameras was being progressively activated across Singapore, as "cars travel too fast".
"Your sentence has nothing to do with whether you're a bad person (or) good person," the judge told Tan. Instead, it was about Tan's driving.
After sentencing Tan to 150 days in jail, or about five months, the judge added that he should be eligible for remission after serving about 100 days, and could also be eligible for home detention after serving half his sentence.
The punishment for driving without due care and attention causing death is a jail term of up to three years, a fine of up to S$10,000 or both.
The offender must also be disqualified from holding a driving licence for at least eight years.
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