Driver fined for causing death of motorcyclist
He was in the midst of changing lanes on the expressway when he suddenly swerved his car back into its original lane.
What he did not realise was that there was a motorcycle just behind him.
The motorbike slammed into the back of his car and the impact sent the rider flying.
The rider was rushed to the hospital, but died from multiple injuries an hour later.
Yesterday, Mooi Kok Heong, 54, a technical officer, was fined $8,000 and disqualified from driving for five years for a negligent act causing the death of Mr Foo Chee Wah, 59. The Malaysian was employed here as a construction worker.
Court papers said Mooi, with his daughter in the front passenger seat, was driving along the Pan Island Expressway on Nov 19 last year.
At 7.20am, he signalled left and started changing lanes.
SUDDENLY BRAKED
But just as his car was three-quarters into the centre lane, he abruptly swerved back into the right lane while braking hard.
He did not keep a proper lookout and did not realise that Mr Foo, on his motorcycle, was less than a car's length behind.
After Mr Foo was flung onto the road, Mooi stopped his vehicle and attended to him.
Mr Foo was rushed to Tan Tock Seng Hospital where he died at about 8.20am.
Yesterday, defence counsel K. Jayakumar Naidu said in mitigation that his client had been driving for 30 years with an excellent track record.
He added that Mooi remains affected by the incident and argued that the custodial threshold had not been breached as it was the motorcycle that collided with the rear of Mooi's car.
For causing death by a negligent act, Mooi could have been jailed up to two years, with a fine.
PERILS OF THE ROAD
211
accidents involving pedestrians aged 60 or older took place last year, up from 194 in 2014.
152
people died on the roads last year, down from 155 in 2014.
8,021
injury accidents happened last year, up from 7,809 cases in 2014.
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