Taxi driver gets jail, driving ban for ramming into fellow cabbie during airport dropoff
The court heard that Wong Chin Kim had a history of poor driving before he accidentally allowed his vehicle to ram into a fellow taxi driver, pinning the man between the two vehicles.
SINGAPORE — A 52-year-old taxi driver was sentenced to one week behind bars on Monday (July 1), after pleading guilty to causing serious injuries to a fellow taxi driver in an accident at Changi Airport two years ago.
Wong Chin Kim failed to shift his vehicle gear from “drive” to "park" when he stepped out of the car, causing it to surge forward and ram into Mr Ang Peng Kim, who was helping his passenger to unload luggage at the departure hall of Terminal 2.
Mr Ang, then 42, suffered limb fractures, as well as acute kidney injury, which required him to undergo dialysis. He required emergency surgery and remained in hospital for more than two months.
On Monday, Wong was also banned from holding or obtaining all classes of driving licences for 18 months following his release from prison.
The court heard that he arrived at the departure hall on May 13, 2017 at about 4am to drop off a passenger. He pulled in behind Mr Ang’s taxi.
When Mr Ang went to the boot of his taxi to unload some luggage, Wong was in his vehicle settling payment with his own passenger. During this time, Wong had his foot on the brake while its gear was engaged in “drive”.
After the passenger paid him, he opened his door to help retrieve the luggage from his boot — but failed to shift the gear from “drive” to “park”. At this point, his taxi accelerated forward while Mr Ang was still standing behind his own taxi.
Wong tried to get back into the taxi to pull the handbrake to stop it, but the vehicle rammed into the other driver, pinning him between the two taxis.
Wong got back in the vehicle and reversed it, then called for an ambulance.
Footage from Wong’s in-vehicle camera showing the incident was played in court. At the time, the weather was fine, visibility was clear and the road surface was dry.
Mr Ang was taken to Changi General Hospital, where he was warded for more than two months and given medical leave for more than a year.
About a week after the incident, he was diagnosed with acute kidney injury due to the crush injury and underwent dialysis for two weeks. On Nov 29, 2017, he went to an outpatient clinic and was diagnosed with stage three chronic kidney disease.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Edwin Soh highlighted Wong’s “history of bad driving” that revealed “his poor attitude towards road safety”, including 13 traffic-related offences dating back to 1997.
In mitigation, Wong said in Mandarin through an interpreter that he regretted what happened, and that he is the sole breadwinner for his family. He also pleaded for a lighter sentence.
In sentencing Wong, District Judge Kessler Soh told him that a custodial sentence was warranted in this case.
“This accident caused very serious injury to the victim… After serving your jail term and driving ban, should you ever drive again, you must be much more careful,” the judge added.
For causing grievous hurt through a negligent act, Wong could have been jailed up to two years, fined up to S$5,000, or both.
