• Chong Kim Hoe faces three charges under the Road Traffic Act
• He allegedly caused the deaths of two helpers, caused grievous hurt to three others, and hurt to a sixth helper
• He is accused of making a U-turn along Nutmeg Road behind Lucky Plaza, driving onto a footway and through a guardrail and onto a service road

SINGAPORE — A 64-year-old man was charged in court on Wednesday (Sept 2) for his alleged role in a car crash that claimed the lives of two foreign domestic workers at Lucky Plaza shopping mall eight months ago.

Chong Kim Hoe, a Singapore permanent resident from Malaysia, was handed three charges under the Road Traffic Act.

They are for dangerous driving causing death, dangerous driving causing grievous hurt, and dangerous driving causing hurt.

The accident, which happened at about 5pm on Dec 29 last year, led to an outpouring of grief among the foreign domestic worker community in Singapore.

The two Filipinas — Abigail Danao Leste, 41, and Arlyn Picar Nucos, 50 — had died from their injuries in Tan Tock Seng Hospital.

Arlyn had worked with the same family since 1992, raising three children in that household.

Leste was a mother-of-two, with a friend previously describing her as a “very happy” person.

Four other Filipina workers were also injured in the accident. They are Arlyn’s sister, Ms Arceli Picar Nucos, 56, two cousins — Ms Egnal Layugan Limbauan, 44, and Demet Limbauan Limbauan, 37 — and Ms Laila Flores Laudencia, 44.

Court documents stated that Chong allegedly accelerated while making a U-turn along Nutmeg Road behind Lucky Plaza, drove onto the footway, through a guardrail and onto a service road.

He is accused of colliding into the six helpers who were sitting along the footway.

Ms Arceli, Ms Egnal and Ms Laudencia suffered grievous injuries, while Ms Demet suffered less serious ones, according to court documents.

A police prosecutor told the court that if Chong chooses to plead guilty, the prosecution will proceed on the most serious charge of causing death and the other two charges will be taken into consideration for sentencing.

Chong did not enter his plea. He will return to court on Sept 25 for a pre-trial conference and remains out on bail of S$15,000.

Closed-circuit television footage of the accident, which circulated on social media, showed a black Honda moving off from a drop-off point outside Lucky Plaza along Nutmeg Road, before making a U-turn and accelerating onto a footpath.

The car then crashed into a group of people, drove through a roadside railing and landed on a service road below that leads out of the mall car park.

In the days following the accident, the police said that Chong’s licence was suspended with immediate effect upon his arrest. He was nabbed at the scene.

STIFFER PENALTIES

Errant drivers now face significantly tougher penalties after amendments to the Road Traffic Act came into force in November last year.

The maximum penalties were increased, and the degree of punishment for dangerous or careless driving now depends on the level of harm caused. 

If convicted of dangerous driving causing death, Chong could be jailed at least two years and up to eight years. He will also be disqualified from driving for at least 10 years.

Before the amendments, the offence carried a maximum five-year jail term and disqualification from driving.

Repeat offenders can now also be jailed at least four years and up to 15 years.

The offence of dangerous driving causing grievous hurt carries a minimum jail term of one year and a maximum of five years.

First-time offenders convicted of causing hurt through their driving can be fined up to S$10,000, jailed up to two years or both.