SINGAPORE — Three e-scooter riders who collided into pedestrians were handed sentences ranging from one week in jail to nine months’ probation on Monday (Aug 19).

Toh Zhiwei, 35, was riding at a speed of about 13km/h to 15km/h just outside Chinatown MRT Station in January last year when he collided into a 45-year-old Taiwanese tourist causing her to fall and hit her head on the ground. He was sentenced to one week in jail.

Toh had claimed trial, saying he had tried to avoid hitting the tourist, but that she was looking at her mobile phone and walked into his path. However, the prosecution pointed to inconsistencies in his testimony, adding that he should have kept a proper lookout in any case.

In the second case, Muhammad Lutfi Dzakir Abdul Rahman was riding at a speed of about 17km/h to 19km/h at a bus stop outside Eastpoint Mall in Simei in August 2017 when he crashed into a three-year-old girl who fell and hurt her head and knee. At the time, Lufti was a 16-year-old student.

Now 18, he was sentenced to a nine-month supervised probation for hurting the girl, who was running towards the bus stop with her older brother when she was knocked down.

The probation requires Lutfi to remain indoors from 10pm to 6am and perform 80 hours of community service. His parents and brother have to foot a bond of S$5,000 to ensure his good behaviour during the period of probation.

For the third case, Yap Thanabadee, 19, a full-time national serviceman and Lance Corporal with the Singapore Armed Forces at Tengah Airbase, collided into a nine-year-old boy while travelling at a speed of 25km/h near a bus stop in Jurong East on March 24 this year.

The boy — who had just alighted from a bus when he was knocked down — suffered abrasions on his ear and knee. Yap did not stop because he assumed that no passengers would alight from the bus.

Yap was handed a six-month administrative probation, requiring him to stay indoors from 10pm to 6am and perform 150 hours of community service. His father also had to pay a bond of S$5,000 to ensure his good behaviour during his probation.

Since February this year, personal mobility devices have been subjected to a maximum speed of 10km/h on footpaths and 25km/h on shared paths.

All three riders faced one charge each of causing hurt by doing an act so rashly as to endanger the personal safety of others, which carries a maximum jail term of one year, a fine of up to S$5,000, or both. Both Yap and Lufti pleaded guilty.

Probation is usually offered to first-time offenders between 16 and 21 years old. This does not result in a recorded criminal conviction, and allows young offenders to continue with their education or employment while serving their sentences.