Man jailed for careless driving in crash that killed delivery rider on e-bicycle

SINGAPORE: A man was jailed for five months and banned from driving for eight years on Wednesday (May 11) for careless driving in a crash that caused the death of a delivery rider on a power-assisted bicycle.

Ter Chee Kwang, 55, pleaded guilty to a charge of driving without due care or attention, causing the death of 42-year-old Leow Cheer Keong.

Ter, who was a cleaning supervisor at the time of the offence, failed to keep a proper lookout while driving towards a junction along Sungei Road on the morning of May 13, 2021.

The court heard that earlier that morning, Ter met his former colleague at a coffee shop for breakfast. At about 9.30am, Ter drank about three-quarters of a can of beer.

Both men left the coffee shop at about 10am, with Ter agreeing to drive his companion to Beach Road.

Sometime before 10.25am, Ter was driving his rental car along Sungei Road towards Kelantan Road.

Mr Leow was riding his e-bicycle on the first lane of a two-lane road along Arab Street, a major road, towards Weld Road.

Mr Leow, who had the right of way, then drove into the non-signalised cross junction of Sungei Road and Arab Street and continued straight from Ter's right side.

Ter admitted to failing to keep a proper lookout and failing to give way to Mr Leow at the junction.

Instead, after looking right then left, Ter accelerated forward into the junction without stopping, and went straight across it.

At the junction, the front of Ter's car hit Mr Leow, flinging him off the e-bicycle and onto the pavement along Arab Street.

Ter notified the police, who arrived with an ambulance at about 10.40am. Mr Leow was taken to the hospital unconscious.

He was found to have sustained injuries including a skull fracture and pooling of blood at his head.

Mr Leow underwent emergency surgery, but was pronounced dead at about 6pm. The cause of death was determined to be head injury.

After the accident, Ter was made to take a breath analyser test as he reeked of alcohol. He failed the test and was arrested.

Footage of the accident, captured by a Public Transport Security Command close-circuit television camera, was played in court.

Forensic analysis of the video showed that the average speed of Ter's car at the time of the collision was about 34kmh to 41kmh. The speed of Mr Leow's e-bicycle could not be estimated with enough certainty.

The analysis report also found that at the point of collision, the e-bicycle was likely to have been partially visible to Ter through the front windscreen.

It could not be determined if Ter and Mr Leow could see each other's vehicles before the collision.

However, Ter's view of oncoming traffic along Arab Street towards Weld Road would have been limited by some concrete with a guardrail, according to the report.

That was at the stop line where drivers should stop to check the traffic before crossing the junction where the accident happened.

The analysis similarly found that the concrete with a guardrail would have limited Mr Leow's view of traffic emerging from Sungei Road.

The prosecution sought five to six months' jail and a driving ban of at least eight years.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Shen Wanqin said the accident happened at an uncontrolled junction where vehicles travelling on the major road, such as Mr Leow's e-bicycle, have the right of way.

She said that according to the Highway Code, a road user at a junction must look right, then left, then right again, and must not move off until they are sure it is safe to do so.

"Had (Ter) conducted adequate checks by, for example, looking right a second time, he would have seen the deceased and would not have accelerated into the junction," said Ms Shen.

"If his view of the oncoming traffic was affected, he could have, for example, inched his car out slowly, to check and ensure that it was safe before moving into the junction," she added.

Ter, who was unrepresented, told the judge that he "really did not have time to react as the bicycle was moving too fast" and that he was remorseful.

He said driving was his only way to earn a living and that he was supporting his wife, three-year-old daughter and elderly mother in a nursing home.

In response, the prosecutor said that the conduct of the victim had no bearing on Ter's culpability and there was no evidence to show Mr Leow was travelling at a very fast speed.

Those convicted of causing death by driving without due care or reasonable consideration can be jailed for up to three years, fined up to S$10,000 or both.