A Singapore man has been jailed for causing the death of an 18-year-old girl while engaging in a dangerous racing game on the East Coast Parkway (ECP).
Jarrett Tee Lee Kiat, 30, had reportedly swerved the car he was driving into the lane of a motorcycle after asking his passengers if they wanted to see it “fly”.
Source: Shin Min Daily News
The fatal crash took place on 23 Feb 2024, when Tee — who at the time was a student, chef, and social media influencer — met a man named Vincent Loh, according to court documents seen by Channel NewsAsia (CNA).
Mr Loh brought along two 16-year-old girls, and the four of them had supper in Sembawang.
They then drove around in the two men’s cars, with Tee driving a rented Mercedes-Benz.
Sometime later, they were joined by a 16-year-old boy and his girlfriend, 18-year-old Ms Leann Lim Jia Le.
Source: Shin Min Daily News
At one point in the night, Tee was driving along the ECP with a 16-year-old girl and Ms Lim’s boyfriend as passengers.
Travelling alongside them was a motorcycle ridden by 27-year-old Mr Kovan Tan, with Ms Lim as pillion.
They were heading towards East Coast Park, but the car and motorcycle started racing with each other.
Tee drove at speeds of up to 160 kmh as he played a “blocking and braking game” with the motorcycle, which involved swerving into the other motorist’s path and applying brakes intermittently, forcing the other motorist to slow down.
While playing this racing game with Mr Tan’s motorcycle, Tee reportedly asked his passengers:
Do you want to see motorcycle fly?
Ms Lim’s boyfriend begged him not to do it, but when Tee noticed Mr Tan’s motorcycle overtaking him, he swerved into the motorcycle’s lane.
Tee’s car swiped the motorcycle, and Mr Tan and Ms Lim were both flung 5m to 8m away.
Source: Shin Min Daily News
After the collision, Ms Lim lay motionless on the road.
Source: Shin Min Daily News
Ms Lim was rushed to the hospital at about 4.40am on 24 Feb.
Despite paramedics administering cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), she could not be revived and did not have a pulse.
Doctors said she had suffered significant brain injury with a low chance of recovery.
She died at 2.47pm that day after her condition worsened.
Mr Tan, on the other hand, escaped with abrasions and a hand wound, needing three days in the hospital and six days’ hospitalisation leave.
When Tee was giving his statement to the police, he lied that the motorcycle had been tailgating and “high-beaming” him.
He also claimed that the collision occurred when he changed lanes to give way to the motorcycle, but it instead moved to the same lane and sped up.
Source: @da_niubee on TikTok
Tee had called Mr Loh after the accident, also claiming that the “motorcycle had collided into him”.
Source: Shin Min Daily News
He later told Mr Loh that the motorcyclist taunted him and kept revving his engine.
Ms Lim had also pointed her middle finger at him, so he “played” with the motorcycle.
When Mr Loh told Tee he was “crazy”, he replied that “she deserved it” as she had pushed his limits.
According to prosecutors, when he met Mr Loh after being released on bail, he told him that Ms Lim had “pissed (him) off”, saying:
The accident caused her death is what she deserved.
Later, he told Mr Loh and other friends that Ms Lim “deserved” to die for taunting him, again claiming that she had made a rude gesture at him.
In court on Friday (27 June), Deputy Public Prosecutor Paul Chia said Tee “was in no way remorseful for his actions”.
Ms Lim’s father told Shin Min Daily News that Tee never contacted the family, nor did he show any remorse for her death in court or on social media.
In fact, her stepmother said before the hearing that she even overheard him joking with friends about the possible punishment he might face.
In contrast, Mr Tan cried and apologised at Ms Lim’s funeral despite being himself injured and needing someone to support him.
Tee pleaded guilty to one count of dangerous driving causing death.
During the sentencing, the judge described the crash as one of the worst cases of dangerous driving he had seen, and reprimanded Tee for treating the road as a “playground” for seeking thrills.
He had completely ignored road safety and showed no remorse after the accident, the judge added.
He was eventually jailed for five years and eight months, and also handed a 10-year driving ban.
Another two counts of dangerous driving were taken into consideration for sentencing.
Also read: 21-year-old motorcyclist dies after accident with car along Mandai Road, driver arrested
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