An electric scooter rider was given the maximum fine of $2,500 yesterday after he admitted injuring a boy while riding the e-scooter in a negligent manner.
This happened when logistics manager Qin Jian, 32, was riding near a lift at the void deck of Block 607, Clementi West Street 2, around 6.50pm on July 5 last year.
The nine-year-old boy's father, who was waiting for his son nearby, rushed to the void deck on hearing his screams. He called the police.
The boy was taken to the National University Hospital, where he was treated for small abrasions on his right elbow and wrist, and left knee.
Pleading for a light sentence, Qin, who did not have a lawyer, told District Judge Adam Nakhoda that he no longer uses an e-scooter.
The Chinese national was one of three men charged yesterday with causing hurt by riding their e-scooters in a negligent manner.
The other two were Singaporeans Ivyn Toh, 22, and Liu Jiaming, 26.
Liu is accused of knocking into Ms Tay Poh Choon, 61, at Yishun Park Hawker Centre on Oct 19 last year. She suffered tenderness to the back of her head.
As for Toh, he was allegedly riding at an unsafe speed along a pavement near Block 549, Woodlands Drive 44, on Nov 14 last year when he knocked into an eight-year-old boy, who suffered injuries, including bruises to his face.
Toh also faces two other unrelated charges - assaulting a woman in a Woodlands Drive flat on Nov 5 last year, and contravening a personal protection order. He is said to have slapped and punched the woman. Court papers did not mention the nature of their relationship.
Toh will be back in court next Friday, while Liu's case has been adjourned to March 23.
The Straits Times had earlier reported that 110 accidents involving e-scooters were reported in the first nine months of last year, and the Government is cracking down on reckless riders.
Senior Minister of State for Transport Lam Pin Min said in Parliament this week that the Government has accepted the Active Mobility Advisory Panel's proposal last month to make registration of the devices mandatory.
As part of the registration process, users will have to provide their personal particulars as well as paste identification stickers prominently on their devices, and ensure that these meet requirements such as a maximum weight of 20kg and a top speed of no more than 25kmh.
E-scooter users will have to register their devices from the second half of this year
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