SINGAPORE — Two former cabbies pleaded guilty in a district court on Thursday (Dec 12) to their roles in separate accidents — one which resulted in a woman’s coma, and the other a motorcyclist’s death.

Kan Chee Chew, 56, was sentenced to two weeks’ jail and disqualified from driving all classes of vehicles for five years.

He admitted to grievously injuring Madam Pakrisamy Kamala, 62, after colliding with her while she was crossing the street.

Kan had failed to notice her while making a right turn. As a result of the collision, she has been in a coma since July 3, 2018 — almost one-and-a-half years.

The other cabby, Desmond Tan Tat Tiong, admitted to causing the death of motorcyclist Chong Ah Hee, 57, by a rash act not amounting to culpable homicide on Sept 19 last year.

The 34-year-old had lost control of his vehicle due to the side effects of prescription-only pills he had taken from his girlfriend.

Another charge of causing hurt to lorry driver Tawrad Sharafod Ali, a 28-year-old Bangladeshi national, will be taken into consideration for Tan’s sentencing later this month.

THE FIRST ACCIDENT

The court heard that Kan, a taxi driver for 15 years, was driving in the Little India area at about 7pm on July 3 last year.

He did not stop at the stop line at the end of Syed Alwi Road, slowing down instead before turning right along Jalan Besar Street towards Bencoolen Street.

Kan collided into Mdm Pakrisamy as she was crossing the street, flinging her two metres forward. She began bleeding and Kan got out of his taxi to help her.

Traffic flow was moderately heavy at the time and the weather was clear. Footage of the accident from Kan’s dashboard camera was played in court.

When Mdm Pakrisamy was taken to Tan Tock Seng Hospital, she was found to have suffered several fractures, including on her skull and collarbone. She underwent surgery for her traumatic brain injuries and was placed in intensive care.

In his medical report last December, a doctor stated that her chance of recovery was slim and that she is “likely to remain comatose or minimally conscious”.

Kan has a history of traffic offences, such as speeding and failing to conform to a red light signal, Deputy Public Prosecutor Bjorn Tan told the court.

His lawyer Daniel Poon said in mitigation that he was his family’s sole breadwinner, and that it was a “most unfortunate” accident.

“He did not expect anyone to be jaywalking and it was a moment of carelessness on his part,” Mr Poon added.

THE SECOND ACCIDENT

In the other case, Tan was suffering from a severe headache that afternoon and decided to drive his taxi to his girlfriend’s home to sleep.

He took two Anarex pills — prescribed to his girlfriend — and some cough syrup, which was prescribed to him. Some of the drugs’ side effects include drowsiness, dizziness and blurred or double vision.

He was driving alone along Sungei Kadut Avenue towards Sungei Kadut Drive when he began negotiating a bend. 

There were warning signs ahead for drivers to slow down, as well as multiple speed regulating strips, but Tan did not do so and lost control of his taxi, mounting and crossing the centre divider. 

The vehicle then slammed into Chong’s motorcycle and Mr Tawrad’s lorry on the other side of the road.

Chong was flung upwards and onto the front of the lorry, before landing on the pavement and getting trapped under the lorry when it mounted the pavement.

Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) personnel extricated his body and he was pronounced dead at the scene. Meanwhile, Mr Tawrad suffered a minor head injury and abrasions, and was given two days of medical leave.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Tan Yen Seow sought at least 11 months’ jail and a six-year driving ban. He cited aggravating factors such as driving under the influence of drugs, and how it was “fortuitous that only two victims were injured”.

In mitigation, Tan’s lawyer said that he still constantly has trouble sleeping at night and has been diagnosed with adjustment disorder. He was suffering from blurry vision right before the accident, the lawyer added.