Ex-bus driver jailed for one week after fatal accident
An SBS Transit bus on Jalan Boon Lay hit a woman who was crossing the road early in the morning.
The court heard that Malaysian Tan Meow Hiang, 46, was killed in the accident.
The bus driver, Kwa Ah Bah, 67, who was dismissed after the accident, was sentenced yesterday to a week's jail and disqualified from driving all classes of vehicles for four years.
He had pleaded guilty in October to causing death by negligent driving.
Kwa was driving an off-service double-decker bus on the extreme left lane around 6.30am on Nov 8 last year when it hit Ms Tan. An ambulance rushed her to Ng Teng Fong General Hospital, but she later died of multiple injuries.
Defence lawyer Simon Tan said Kwa was driving within the speed limit. He had a clean driving record before the accident and had worked for SBS Transit for more than 40 years.
The lawyer argued: "It is also noteworthy that there is a barrier erected along the middle of the central road divider, clearly with the intention of preventing or deterring pedestrians from crossing the road along that stretch, as the road is wide and spans three lanes."
But Deputy Public Prosecutor Senthilkumaran Sabapathy said there was no pedestrian crossing or overhead bridge within 50m of the scene. The nearest pedestrian crossing was 300m away.
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