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SINGAPORE: A man was sentenced to 27 months’ jail on Monday (Dec 22) for driving at speeds of up to double the speed limit and crashing into a lorry ferrying migrant workers .<\/p>\n
Tan Wei Feng, 33, was also banned from driving for the minimally required period of eight years.<\/p>\n
He pleaded guilty to one charge of dangerous driving that caused grievous hurt to nine victims. All of them were migrant workers riding in the back of a lorry.<\/p>\n
Another charge of dangerous driving that caused less severe injuries to three victims \u2013 two migrant workers in the driver’s and passenger’s seat of the lorry, and a passenger in Tan’s car \u2013 was considered for sentencing.<\/p>\n
The accident happened along the Kallang-Paya Lebar Expressway on Jul 19, 2023 at about 7.45am. The weather was fine and the road was dry at the time.<\/p>\n
An eyewitness on a motorcycle behind the lorry saw Tan’s car swerve from the third lane towards the first lane behind him.<\/p>\n
Tan’s car then overtook the motorcycle, drove at high speed between the first and second lane and hit the right rear of the lorry.<\/p>\n
As a result, the lorry, which was driving in the first lane, spun and hit the side barriers of the road and flipped onto its side.<\/p>\n
Some of the victims who were seated in the back of the lorry were thrown out of the vehicle.<\/p>\n
The Health Sciences Authority’s speed analysis estimated that Tan was driving <\/strong>at speeds of between 130 kmh and 160 kmh at the time of the collision.<\/p>\n The speed limit of the road was 80 kmh. The lorry was travelling within the speed limit.<\/p>\n Nine migrant workers from India aged 23 to 41 were seriously hurt in the accident, with four requiring surgery.<\/p>\n The nine workers suffered various injuries including head injuries, brain haemorrhages and spine, skull, facial, eye and rib fractures.<\/p>\n They were warded for two to nine days and given 12 to 59 days of hospitalisation leave.<\/p>\n Three more victims suffered less severe injuries. The 44-year-old driver of the lorry had jaw and shoulder bruises, and the 37-year-old migrant worker in the front passenger seat had a neck sprain and bruises.<\/p>\n The remaining victim was the 26-year-old passenger in Tan’s rented car. She suffered cuts and bruises and mild hearing loss.<\/p>\n The lorry ferrying the migrant workers was badly damaged, with the cost of repairs and losses totalling more than S$36,000 (US$28,000).<\/p>\n Tan’s car was disposed of by the rental company as it was beyond repair. Losses were estimated at S$8,000.<\/p>\n Tan has not made restitution, and his lawyer from the Public Defender’s Office told the court that he was not in a financial position to compensate the victims.<\/p>\n Deputy Public Prosecutor Mavis Ng urged the court to sentence Tan to 26 to 30 months’ jail and the minimum eight-year driving ban.<\/p>\n She noted that a total of 12 victims were hurt in the accident, and nine of them suffered grievous hurt to vulnerable body parts.<\/p>\n She also pointed out Tan’s “excessively high” speed at the time of the crash.<\/p>\n Tan’s defence lawyer asked for 26 months’ jail and the eight-year driving ban, emphasising that he was not sleepy nor driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs at the time.<\/p>\n She also argued that Tan, who is a caregiver for his elderly mother, has potential for rehabilitation.<\/p>\n Tan previously drove without due care and attention in 2023 and caused hurt by driving without reasonable consideration in 2022.<\/p>\n These offences were compounded, meaning that they were settled out of court, typically by paying a small monetary sum, without resulting in a conviction.<\/p>\n Tan could have been jailed for between one and five years for dangerous driving causing grievous hurt.<\/p>\n The practice of transporting migrant workers to and from work sites in the backs of lorries is a perennial issue that has been raised in parliament as early as 2010.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n