Jail for man over accident with motorcycle, pillion rider suffered serious brain injuries

SINGAPORE - A man who was driving a car when it got into an accident with a motorcycle, causing traumatic brain injuries to its pillion rider, was sentenced to seven months’ jail on Thursday.

Yap Eng Gee, 76, was also disqualified from holding or obtaining all classes of driving licences for five years.

After a trial in July, District Judge Wong Peck convicted him of driving without due care and attention.

The pillion rider, Mr Donald Ng Loon Siang, 29, who went through multiple neurosurgical procedures, suffered serious cognitive impairments that are likely to be permanent.

In his submissions, Deputy Public Prosecutor Louis Ngia said: “He was left unable to make sense of what was happening around him. He was not oriented to time, place and persons, got confused easily, and would not be able to perform any vocational employment.”

Mr Alfred Ng Loon Way, 24, who was the motorcyclist at the time of the accident, suffered fractures to his left forearm and wrist. He is also Mr Donald Ng’s brother.

Shortly before the accident, Yap was driving his car along Choa Chu Kang Road towards Bukit Panjang Road at around 9.10pm on Dec 30, 2019, when he reached a non-signalised junction.

He then drove into a docking bay as he wanted to make a discretionary right turn into Galistan Avenue.

DPP Ngia said that there was a stop line at the end of the bay but Yap did not stop his vehicle and continued making the turn.

At around the same time, the Ng brothers were on a motorcycle that was travelling in the middle of the three-lane Choa Chu Kang Road towards Bukit Batok Road.

The motorcycle then collided into Yap’s car and the two siblings were flung onto the road.

The prosecutor told the court: “The accused did not notice the motorcycle until after the collision... Alfred... had his helmet flung out, and realised that he suffered a broken wrist.

“Alfred got up to check on his brother, Donald, who... lay on the (road) unconscious, spasming. Blood flowed from his mouth and nose.”

Mr Donald Ng, who suffered injuries including fractures to his skull, was rushed to hospital where he was warded for about five months.

He still suffers from cognitive impairments, said DPP Ngia.

The prosecutor also told the court that Yap had violated the Highway Code by failing to pause at the stop line and did not give way to the motorcycle which had the right of way.

During the trial, Yap, who was not represented by a lawyer, had claimed that the motorcycle was speeding when the accident occurred.

In response to this, DPP Ngia said that this was purely speculative on Yap’s part and an irrelevant assertion, adding: “If the accused had failed to keep a proper lookout for oncoming traffic, it was his careless driving that had caused the victims to collide into his car.

“It was wholly immaterial to the accused’s liability for the offence who had collided into (whom) and whether or not the victims were travelling at a high speed.”

According to Yap, the motorcycle had travelled 31.5m in 3.5 seconds.

The prosecutor said that based of this assertion, it was not speeding and was instead going at 32.4kmh.

Court documents did not disclose the speed limit along that stretch of the road at the time.

On Thursday, the prosecutor urged the court to sentence Yap to between seven and eight months’ jail.

He added that Mr Donald Ng had suffered exceptionally serious injuries and Yap had shown a flagrant disregard for traffic rules.

Without revealing details, Yap told Judge Wong that he is a “low-profile eccentric composer” who had performed for royalty and ambassadors.

He said: “My life is limited. I’ve gone through life and death. I’ve had two cancers before.”

Yap also said that the case is “lopsided” and intends to file an appeal.

His bail had been set at $10,000.