Fine, driving ban for bus driver who hit lorry in BKE crash

A bus driver was on July 21 given the maximum fine of $5,000 after causing a six-vehicle collision that left a lorry passenger with multiple fractures and 16 others hurt.

Saddam Ladah, 33, was also given a five-year driving ban, after he pleaded guilty to a charge of driving without due care and attention causing grievous hurt for injuring the lorry passenger.

A second charge of driving without due care and attention causing hurt that involved the rest of the victims was taken into consideration during his sentencing.

The accident happened on Nov 29, 2024, at about 8am.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Colin Ng said Saddam, a Malaysian national, was driving the Malaysian-registered bus along the third lane of the BKE towards Woodlands Checkpoint, before the Woodlands viaduct.

It was raining and the road surface was wet, said the prosecutor, adding that traffic flow was moderate and visibility was clear.

Failing to keep a proper lookout, Saddam collided into the back of a lorry that had come to a stop due to traffic conditions.

This caused the lorry to veer into the second lane, to the right. The lorry then hit the right side of stationary car that had been two vehicles ahead of it in the third lane, and the back of another lorry in front of the car.

Saddam's bus then collided into a car directly in front of the first lorry, causing the car to veer to the road shoulder.

The bus then hit a third lorry, which had been in front of the car that had gone off the road.

A passenger in the first lorry hit by Saddam, Mr Lor Kian Meng, 49, was taken to Woodlands Health Emergency Department.

The Singaporean complained of pain in his chest, right shoulder and the left side of his body, and was diagnosed with spinal fractures, a fracture in one of his ribs, and bruising on his right shoulder.

He was given outpatient treatment and 28 days of hospitalisation leave.

The bus and the first lorry both had their windscreens ripped off in the accident.

The bus also had a crack on its left signal light, while the lorry's damage also included a ripped-off front right signal light, and dents on its front cargo box and front right door.

In asking for the $5,000 fine and five-year driving ban, DPP Ng said the harm and culpability in this case was low, noting that Mr Lor's injuries did not necessitate surgical intervention.

While the prosecutor said the second charge involving the 16 victims warranted an uplift in sentencing, he also noted that Saddam had chosen to plead guilty at an early stage.

For driving without due care and attention causing grievous hurt, Saddam could have been jailed for up to two years, fined up to $5,000, or both.

In sentencing such an offender, the court must order him to be disqualified from holding or obtaining a driving licence for at least five years, unless it has special reasons to do otherwise.