Motorist slapped with jail term and driving ban for causing death of rider

Machinist Cheng Kim Leng pleaded guilty to causing the death, by negligence, of Ridwan Ibrahim, a rider on a power-assisted bicycle, and was convicted to two weeks' jail and barred from driving for three years, reported The Straits Times.

Cheng was behind the wheel of a van when he failed to keep a proper lookout while turning out of the slip road from Sin Ming Avenue into Marymount Road. Cheng eventually hit the back of Mr. Ridwan who was travelling on the left lane along Marymount Road, on the 22^nd of April this year. Mr. Ridwan suffered severe injuries and died more than an hour later in Tan Tock Seng Hospital.

The court heard that Cheng was emerging from the slip road into Marymount Road when he suddenly noticed Mr. Ridwan about 3m away on the leftmost lane, but he was unable to stop in time and hit the rider.

Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) Jeremy Lua had sought a jail term of two to four weeks as well as a driving ban of three years, citing aggravating factors. DPP Jeremy highlighted that while Cheng had slowed down for oncoming traffic, he did not stop. DPP Jeremy also went on to add that the accident was solely caused by Cheng's failure to keep a proper lookout and stop at the road to check if there was any vehicle on his left as well as his right.

Cheng's lawyer, Mr. Loh Lin Kok, defended that his client was driving to Ang Mo Kio to buy medicinal herbs for his 84-year old mother and did not stop as he was momentarily inattentive. He successfully applied for Cheng's sentence to be deferred for three weeks.

Cheng could have been jailed for up to two years and/or fined for causing death by doing a negligent act.