Lorry driver fined for driving off as another man held steering wheel and hitting pedestrian
SINGAPORE — A lorry driver who drove off as a man held onto his steering wheel, and later hit a pedestrian, was fined S$4,000 on Thursday (April 25).
Mohamed Husaini Abd Rahman, 49, was also barred from holding a driving licence for three months.
He had earlier pleaded guilty to one count of committing a rash act that endangered the personal safety of others and one count of causing hurt by a rash act.
The court heard that Mr Guo Xingjun, a 47-year-old Chinese national, was driving a tow truck along Hillview Road towards Hillview Avenue on Dec 18, 2017.
He got into an accident with Husaini, who was driving a lorry. Court documents did not state how the accident occurred. The weather was clear and the road surface was dry then.
The two men alighted from their vehicles and began arguing.
After they took photographs of the scene, Husaini returned to his lorry and started to drive off. Mr Guo then moved to the side of the lorry to continue his argument with Husaini.
However, Husaini drove off and Mr Guo grabbed the lorry’s steering wheel through the window as he thought Husaini was going to leave the scene without providing his particulars.
The court heard that as Mr Guo held on to the steering wheel with both hands, his legs were lifted off the ground as the lorry continued to move forward. Husaini admitted that he continued stepping on the accelerator and did not pay attention to his driving.
As a result, the lorry veered to the left, mounted a kerb and hit pedestrian Lee Chou Yan.
Ms Lee, now 46, suffered a fracture to her spine and was later admitted to Ng Teng Fong General Hospital for three days and given 28 days’ medical leave.
The court also heard that Ms Lee had turned down the S$1,000 compensation fee offered by Husaini and that she would be engaging a lawyer to initiate civil proceedings against him.
