Teen in SLE bike chase that killed LTA officer to plead guilty
The teenager, who faces 13 charges, took up the prosecution’s plead-guilty offer.
A Land Transport Authority (LTA) enforcement officer is seen lying on a road after an accident on Jun 4, 2024. (Photo: Facebook/Singapore roads accident.com)
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SINGAPORE: An 18-year-old who was in a motorcycle chase along Seletar Expressway (SLE) that killed a Land Transport Authority (LTA) officer is set to plead guilty.
The teenager, who has been remanded since early June after the fatal accident, indicated he would take up the prosecution's plead-guilty offer in a pre-trial conference on Monday morning (Sep 9).
This came after he hired Mr Foo Ho Chew from H C Law Practice.
The teen cannot be named under the Children and Young Persons Act as he was 17 at the time of one of his charges.
The teenager is set to plead guilty on Oct 22 before Deputy Principal District Judge Kessler Soh.
He faces a total of 13 charges, including possessing drugs at a Woodlands flat, consuming methamphetamine, having a Samurai sword and riding a motorcycle without a licence or insurance.
The bulk of his alleged offences occurred on Jun 4.
At the time, he was wanted by the police for absconding in October 2023 before he was about to be sent to a community rehabilitation centre for drug-related issues.
When the late LTA officer Mr Zdulfika Ahakasah spotted him riding a motorcycle along the SLE, he asked the teen to stop, but the teenager allegedly defied his order.
In the ensuing chase, the teenager allegedly cut across two lanes from the road shoulder near the Tampines Expressway exit and across the chevron marking of the expressway divider.
Mr Zdulfika got into an accident with two lorries and a van and was taken to hospital, where he died.
The teenager's case went viral due to his remarks when he was first charged and without legal representation.
He said: "I gambled my life as much as he gambled his. So the death ... I may be one of the contributing factors to the death, but I am not to be blamed."
Of the offences, the heftiest possible penalties are drug-related – he could be jailed for up to 10 years, fined up to S$20,000 or both for possessing or consuming drugs.
