Former national triathlete fined for negligent cycling that caused man to fracture his leg

SINGAPORE - A fitness coach and former national triathlete was fined $4,000 on Monday (Oct 30) for causing grievous hurt by negligent cycling.

Poon Pek Ya, now 48, founded fitness training company Unpossible in 2013, and according to her firm's website, she has won many awards for her sporting achievements.

These accolades included a second-place finish in the 2013 Port Dickson International Triathlon and overall champion in the 2001 Al Formosa International Triathlon.

Poon, who pleaded guilty to the offence on Monday, was riding her bicycle along Changi Coast Road at around 7.40am on March 5 last year when she cycled across three lanes and stopped at a centre divider.

Motorcyclist Syed Mohammed Atheer Ahmad Reda Shahab was riding his bike along the centre lane of the three-lane road at around the same time, the court heard.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Selene Yap said: "The accused then cycled out into the centre lane of Changi Coast Road, in the direction of Telok Paku Road.

"In order to avoid the accused, the victim swerved to the victim's right and fell to the ground. The victim then heard a cracking sound on his leg."

One of Poon's friends, who was cycling with her at that time, then alerted the police.

An ambulance arrived but Mr Mohammed did not take it.

Instead, he waited for his wife to pick him up before going to the Singapore General Hospital.

A medical report dated Nov 10 last year revealed that he suffered a fracture to his right shin. He was given hospitalisation leave from March 5 to Aug 7 last year.

Poon was represented by lawyers A. Sangeetha and Tan Jun Yin. Their mitigation plea stated that except for a parking offence in 2005, this was her first brush with the law.

The defence lawyers added: "In the course of her career, Pek Ya trained school teams from Temasek Polytechnic, Edgefield Primary School and Nanyang Technological University between 1999 and 2013.

"In Pek Ya's... years of experience, neither Pek Ya nor any student under her care has ever been involved in a cycling accident."

Before handing the sentence, District Judge John Ng said he thinks the offence was due to a misjudgement on Poon's part.

For causing grievous hurt due to negligence, she could have been jailed for up to two years and fined up to $5,000.

Join ST's WhatsApp Channel and get the latest news and must-reads.