Accused of causing grievous hurt to man, 71, by negligent driving

Motorcyclist Ng Yoo Ay, 71, has remained in a coma since an accident on Sept 3 last year in which he was hit by a car along the Tampines Expressway. The elderly man's son, Mr Ng See Chye (above), is seen holding a banner of his father.
Motorcyclist Ng Yoo Ay, 71, has remained in a coma since an accident on Sept 3 last year in which he was hit by a car along the Tampines Expressway. The elderly man's son, Mr Ng See Chye (above), is seen holding a banner of his father.

A 29-year-old man was charged in court yesterday with causing grievous hurt to an elderly man by negligent driving on Sept 3 last year.

The victim has remained in a coma since the accident.

Brian Li Xian Cheng was driving along Tampines Expressway towards the Pan-Island Expressway at around 1.25pm that day when he allegedly failed to keep a proper lookout and hit motorcyclist Ng Yoo Ay, 71.

Mr Ng was riding in front of Li's car in the same lane when he was hit.

The elderly man had earlier signed up for the 10km race in last year's Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon (SCSM) that took place in December.

His son, sports trainer Ng See Chye, 49, and family members took part in one of SCSM's events, the Ekiden, in his honour. They formed a relay team to complete the 42.195km race.

The younger Mr Ng, who is a running enthusiast and has taken part in more than 30 marathons, had initially wanted to run a solo full marathon by wearing two number tags - his and his father's.

He had earlier told The Straits Times: "It's time to get the family together to move our lives forward, and this is motivation for us. It is the spirit of sport that will help our family move on.

"During (my father's) hospital stay, we discovered he has a lot of friends we don't know about. Hopefully with the positive energy and thoughts generated, my father can miraculously regain consciousness."

Li is now out on bail of $5,000 and will be back in court on March 15.

He can be jailed for up to two years and fined up to $5,000 if convicted.

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on February 23, 2018, with the headline Accused of causing grievous hurt to man, 71, by negligent driving. Subscribe