PMD rider here on holiday gets time behind bars

A Vietnamese teenager here on holiday will be spending a week behind bars after crashing into a pedestrian while riding an electric scooter.

Nguyen Doan Nam, 16, was yesterday sentenced to a seven-day short detention order after pleading guilty to causing hurt to Mr Teo Kok Hock while riding the personal mobility device (PMD) in a rash manner along Geylang Road.

Offenders given a short detention order are put behind bars for a short time, but will not have a criminal record after their release.

Nam arrived here on a social visit pass on April 8 to visit friends.

At about 10pm on May 20, he borrowed an e-scooter from one of his friends as he wanted to get groceries from a supermarket.

He rode the device with a friend riding pillion.

The duo were on their way back to an undisclosed location when Nam decided to ride on the road. He was moving close to the kerb and against the flow of traffic.

Mr Teo, 37, was on the kerb about to cross Geylang Road.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Kenneth Chin said: "The victim checked for oncoming traffic to his right travelling along Geylang Road in the direction of Kallang Road, and made sure there was no traffic before stepping down onto the road surface to cross Geylang Road. "As the victim stepped onto Geylang Road, the accused noticed the victim but was unable to stop the PMD in time."

The e-scooter knocked into Mr Teo and he fell. He alerted the police, and an ambulance took him to Tan Tock Seng Hospital.

DPP Chin said Mr Teo was treated for multiple abrasions and a cut on his left foot. He was given four days of medical leave.

Nam and his pillion rider fell off the e-scooter when it hit Mr Teo but they were not injured in the incident.

Police investigations later revealed that the unregistered e-scooter was bought in Malaysia.

Yesterday, DPP Chin noted that Nam is a young offender and urged District Judge Salina Ishak to sentence him to a seven-day short detention order.

The DPP said: "While the victim was jaywalking just prior to the collision, this does not reduce the culpability of the accused in riding the PMD against the flow of traffic. The victim had checked that oncoming traffic was clear before attempting to cross the road."

For causing hurt to Mr Teo by riding the e-scooter in a rash manner, Nam could have been jailed for up to a year and fined up to $5,000.