Despite being warned repeatedly by his passenger, a private-hire vehicle (PHV) driver hit a migrant worker with his car in Telok Ayer, causing serious injury to him.
Appearing in court on Wednesday (30 April), 63-year-old Chua Seng Kok was jailed for six weeks over the incident.
Source: Shin Min Daily News
The accident took place on 4 Jan 2024 at about 6.45am, when Chua was driving a passenger along Cross Street during a downpour, with visibility low at the time, reported Shin Min Daily News.
When he arrived at a junction, he attempted to turn right into Cecil Street.
Source: Google Maps
At the time, a 53-year-old migrant worker happened to be crossing the road while holding an umbrella, approaching the car from the left.
Chua’s passenger, who was seated in the back seat, spotted the worker and warned him, shouting “watch out” four times.
However, Chua went ahead anyway and struck the worker.
He continued to drive for a few more seconds before stopping his car.
He eventually drove the migrant worker to Singapore General Hospital, where he was diagnosed with a fractured right hip that required surgery.
The victim was hospitalised for six days and then given another six days of hospitalisation leave.
In court, Chua pleaded guilty to a charge of driving without reasonable consideration causing grievous hurt.
The prosecution noted that this was not his first brush with the law — he had been repeatedly fined for traffic violations since 1997, including for speeding, using his phone while driving, and illegal parking.
Source: rawintanpin’s Images on Canva, for illustration purposes only
Also counting against him was the fact that he had ignored four warnings from his passenger.
The prosecution also said that the migrant worker’s injuries were serious and would definitely affect his job as a construction worker.
Thus, it sought a sentence of between 1.5 and three months in prison and the revocation of his licence for five years.
In mitigation, Chua’s lawyer argued that the defendant had never violated serious traffic laws in over 20 years.
The defence also said he would be losing his source of income as a PHV driver, thus requesting a lenient sentence.
The judge rejected this, noting that his crimes were all serious.
Besides prison time, the judge also revoked his driver’s licence for five years.
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Featured image adapted from Shin Min Daily News and Google Maps.