Court ups taxi driver’s jail term for dangerous driving
A taxi driver who was involved in a high-speed chase had his jail term increased from three to five months by the High Court after the prosecution argued for stiffer punishment. Photo: Reuters
SINGAPORE — A taxi driver who was involved in a high-speed chase had his jail term increased from three to five months by the High Court after the prosecution argued for stiffer punishment.
Aw Tai Hock, 56, was highly culpable and had caused moderate harm with his dangerous driving causing property damage and injuries to others, ruled Judge of Appeal Steven Chong in written grounds issued on Oct 6.
On June 7, 2015, Aw got into in a dispute with his passenger Mohd Andy Abdullah after the latter refused to pay the cab fare. The next day, still upset over the incident, Aw waited at the carpark of Andy’s block in Pasir Ris and started tailing him.
Realising he was being followed, Andy called his friend, who asked him to drive to an open-air carpark at Yishun Street 81 so that they could “teach the (cabby) a lesson”.
Confronting Aw at the Yishun carpark, both Andy and his friend struck Aw’s cab with a parang and baton. Aw turned sharply and drove towards Andy. He also rammed his taxi into the side of Andy’s multi-purpose vehicle (MPV) repeatedly.
What ensued next was a five-minute car chase, with Andy chasing the taxi and, later, Aw chasing the MPV.
During the episode, Aw failed to slow down at 11 speed bumps and five “stop” lines. He almost collided into a lamp post and continued to pursue Andy even in a designated school area.
The chase came to a halt only after Andy’s vehicle collided with another car, which overturned on impact.
In March, Aw was sentenced to three months’ imprisonment and disqualified from driving for three years. The District Court judge had found Aw’s case to be less aggravated as his actions were in response to the aggression and violence of Andy and his friend. Given the context, this was not a typical road-bully or road-rage case, ruled the lower court, which deemed Aw to be a first-time offender and the consequences of his actions to be less serious.
Andy was also punished for dangerous driving. He was fined S$2,000 and disqualified from driving for four months in July last year. Separately, he was convicted of drug offences and received a jail term of ten years and six months with 16 strokes of the cane.
Appealing against Aw’s sentence in the High Court in August, the prosecution argued that the three-month jail term was manifestly inadequate as Aw had deliberately pursued Andy’s vehicle.
In addition, the District Court failed to take into account the potential harm that Aw posed with his recklessness.
Agreeing with the prosecution, Judge of Appeal Chong said in his 28-page judgment that there was moderate property damage to both the taxi and Andy’s vehicle. Andy suffered personal injuries and was given four days of medical leave.
The driver of the other car – which had flipped as a result of the high-speed chase – suffered chest contusion and neck sprain.
The judge noted that the entire episode had placed many road users and pedestrians “at great harm and risks”, as Aw had “used his taxi as a weapon with the aim to cause damage and in the process deliberately flouted numerous traffic rules”.
Although he acknowledged Andy and his friend were also in the wrong, Judge of Appeal Chong disagreed with the District Court that the cause of the incident – started by Andy and his friend being aggressive – lowered Aw’s culpability for his subsequent violations.
“While the initial aggression is inexcusable, it does not provide any justification or excuse for (Aw’s) numerous subsequent violations,” he said, agreeing three months’ jail did not adequately reflect his offences.
