Singaporean jailed in Australia for driving over man who stole backpack, killing him

Sometime after 12.30pm, the group decided to drive past the location where the AirTag was. About an hour later, Ng’s girlfriend’s brother called the police.

While the group was at the construction site looking for the AirTag, Mr Burnes rode past on an e-bike carrying what appeared to be the stolen backpack.

Ng’s girlfriend’s brother and his father saw Mr Burnes cycle past and got into the car. The older man told Ng to follow Mr Burnes so they would not lose sight of him.

Ng pursued Mr Burnes for about 10 minutes around the streets of Carlisle, Perth. His girlfriend’s brother remained on the phone with the police, updating them on their location.

As Mr Burnes left the road onto a grass verge, someone from the back of the car told Ng to give the bike “a tap”, the court heard.

Ng hit the rear wheel of Mr Burnes’ e-bike, causing him to fall. He made a U-turn to face Mr Burnes and had to reverse a little to avoid an obstacle.

Mr Burnes yelled threats at the group, and Ng was scared he might attack. He thought Mr Burnes was coming towards the car and he wanted to reverse away from him.

Ng stepped down hard on the accelerator, thinking that the car transmission was in reverse, but it was in drive. 

The car moved forward and struck the man, who fell to the ground and went under the car. Ng then drove off the verge and onto the street, while the man was trapped under the front driver’s wheel.

Ng continued to drive about 25m up the street, dragging the man under the car.

The prosecution said it should have been evident to Ng that Mr Burnes was trapped under the car, but Ng argued that he did not know that was the case. The judge accepted that there was a risk he might have been under the car, but was not persuaded that the risk was obvious to Ng.

Bystanders ran up to the car and attempted to stop Ng by yelling or banging on the window.

Ng reversed the car and Mr Burnes was released from underneath it. Ng then waited by the side of the road for the police to arrive.

Mr Burnes was declared dead in hospital at 2.42pm after sustaining multiple injuries. Ng was arrested at the scene.

He admitted to police that night that he had pursued Mr Burnes and hit him so he would fall off his bike. Ng said it was a very light tap to cause him to fall to buy time for the police to arrive, after which Mr Burnes shouted aggressively at him.

MITIGATION, AGGRAVATING FACTORS 

The judge said he accepted that Ng thought Mr Burnes posed an imminent threat to the car and its occupants, and that the decision was a “split second decision made under pressure”.

However, he said if Mr Burnes posed a threat to those in the car, it was because Ng was using a car to chase and confront him.

Justice Palmer also noted that Mr Burnes was in a vulnerable position, as he was on an e-bike while Ng was in a car.

He said Ng should have stopped immediately after realising that the vehicle was moving forward instead of reversing.

“Your counsel suggested that you have not appreciated what you were doing because you were addled. While I accept that you may have panicked at the time, I am not satisfied that you were so addled to not appreciate the obvious risk associated with driving towards Mr Burnes,” said the judge.

In mitigation, the judge considered Ng’s guilty plea, lack of prior criminal history and genuine remorse.

Justice Palmer accepted that Ng’s actions were out of character and that he had excellent prospects of rehabilitation.

The judge also considered the influence of Ng’s prospective father-in-law, who had directed him to pursue Mr Burnes, although he stressed that Ng was ultimately responsible for controlling the vehicle.

Ng’s jail sentence was backdated to when he was first taken into custody on May 24, 2024, and he will be eligible for parole after three years and nine months’ imprisonment.