A former taxi driver was fined $7,000 and banned from driving for three years on Wednesday for negligently causing the death of a motorcyclist. Quek Huang Kwang, 59, pleaded guilty to causing the death of Mr Abdul Ghafar Ibrahim, 45, along the Ayer Rajah Expressway (AYE) on Dec 24 last year.

He had failed to keep a proper lookout for the rider while encroaching into the extreme right lane of the expressway, resulting in the front of the motorcycle hitting the back of his taxi.

The court heard that Quek was driving in the second right lane of AYE that day when he saw a pile of wooden piles in the middle of the lane. He then filtered into the extreme right lane without giving any signal and encroached into Mr Abdul Ghafar's path.

As a result, the rider could not react in time and the front of his motorbike hit the back of the taxi. After the collision, Quek stepped out of the taxi to render help and called the police.

The court was told that there were five planks found on the road.

Mr Abdul Ghafar was seriously injured and died in hospital about an hour later.

Quek could have been jailed for up to two years and/or fined for causing death through negligence.