Cabby jailed for hitting pedestrian
Cabby jailed, banned from driving for hitting pedestrian
He was making a right turn when he saw a couple crossing the road at the traffic junction.
Despite the green man being in the pedestrians' favour, the cabby continued driving and did not stop to let them cross.
Just as the taxi was about to hit the couple, the male pedestrian pushed his wife away.
Unfortunately, he could not save himself and the resulting collision left him with a brain injury and leg fracture.
Yesterday, the cabby, Teo Kau Thia, 52, was jailed for two weeks and banned from driving for four years for the negligent act that caused grievous hurt to Mr Tan Kim Hock, 51, a fellow cabby.
One other charge of committing a negligent act causing hurt was taken into consideration for sentencing.
Court papers said that Mr Tan and his wife, Madam Teo Hiok Pheng, 45, were at the junction of Bukit Batok East Avenue 5 and Bukit Batok West 5 at about 3.20am on July 31 last year.
They waited for the green man before using the pedestrian crossing to cross the road.
At this point, Teo, who was in his taxi, was driving towards the junction.
Teo told the authorities that despite seeing Mr Tan and Madam Teo crossing the road, he thought the couple were already halfway across the road and continued driving towards the junction.
Just as Teo's vehicle was one to two metres from the couple, Mr Tan pushed his wife backwards.
The taxi then crashed into him.
Mr Tan was rushed to the National University Hospital, where he was found to have suffered traumatic brain injury and a fracture to the area just below his right knee.
He was warded for about 20 days and was given eight months hospitalisation leave.
DIZZINESS
In December, Mr Tan stated at a medical review that he still suffers discomfort in his right knee, is only able to walk for 15 minutes and is unable to return to work due to dizziness.
Yesterday, Teo's lawyer said in mitigation that the accused had misjudged the distance between his vehicle and the pedestrians and is sorry for what happened.
But District Judge Salina Ishak said in her sentencing remarks that Teo had failed to give way, given that he was aware that Mr Tan and his wife were crossing the road.
"It was not an instance of a lack of judgment," the judge said, adding that the victim's injuries were very serious.
No one answered the door when The New Paper visited the couple's Bukit Batok West Avenue 6 home around 7.30pm yesterday.
Neighbours said they did not know details of the accident, but said Mr Tan and his wife were very jovial and friendly until sometime last year.
Today, they keep mostly to themselves and Madam Teo has also stopped work to care for her husband, an immediate neighbour said.
For committing a negligent act causing grievous hurt, Teo could have been jailed up to two years and fined up to $5,000.
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