Driver in horrific BKE crash that killed 2 sentenced to three months’ jail
The van that was involved in the accident on the BKE on March 11, 2017. Photo: Rock Kapak/Facebook
SINGAPORE — The 25-year-old van driver who caused the death of two motorcyclists taking shelter from the rain under a flyover on the Bukit Timah Expressway (BKE) last year was sentenced to three months’ jail on Tuesday (April 3).
Koh Boon Ping, who worked for Novus Maison Enterprises as a sales promoter cum deliveryman, was also disqualified from driving any class of vehicles for five years.
Koh pleaded guilty to committing a negligent act not amounting to culpable homicide by failing to exercise proper control over his company van, as he entered a slip road that led to the BKE towards the direction of Woodlands Checkpoint on March 11 last year.
His oversight caused him to fatally hit Malaysians Loke Whay Mam, 50, and Lim Chun Hong, 34, and injure six other Malaysian motorcyclists between 21 and 53 years old, who had all stopped at a road shoulder under the flyover to put on their raincoats because it had started to drizzle.
According to court documents, Koh suddenly veered to the left towards a road shoulder, colliding into one of the motorcycles parked underneath the flyover. He then panicked and accidentally stepped on the accelerator, causing the van to surge forward and plough into more motorcycles.
The van, which became dented inwards at the centre upon the impact, stopped moving only after one of the motorcycles got stuck underneath it.
Koh started his day at about 5am on the day of the incident, leaving his house to make deliveries to various stalls in Pasir Ris, Woodlands, and Hougang, before driving to Ghim Moh to set up his own stall.
The accident happened at around 3.50pm, after he closed his stall for the day at about 1.30pm, as he was making his way to a stall located in Woodlands, after collecting company products he had delivered to Pasir Ris earlier.
Koh was arrested on the same day, and his driving licence was suspended with immediate effect as well, the police had said in a statement on the night of the incident.
For causing death by a rash act, he could be jailed for up to five years and/or fined.
A video of the aftermath of the horrific crash went viral on social media and on chat platform WhatsApp on the day of the accident. The police had urged members of the public not to circulate photos or videos of the deceased out of respect for their families.
