Police looking into claim by driver who caused teen’s death that he was an NUS student
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NUS clarified on July 1 that there were no records that Jarrett Tee Lee Kiat had ever been or is currently a student of the university.
PHOTO: LIANHE ZAOBAO
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SINGAPORE – The police are looking into Jarrett Tee Lee Kiat’s claim that he was a student at the National University of Singapore (NUS), said the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) on July 2.
Tee was sentenced to five years and eight months’ jail
Court documents stated that Tee was a full-time student at NUS at the time of the incident, and this was reported on media platforms, including The Straits Times.
But NUS clarified on July 1
In response to ST queries, an AGC spokesman said on July 2 that Tee had told the police in a statement on March 8, 2024, that he was a full-time student at NUS.
This information was subsequently reflected in the statement of facts that was agreed to by the prosecution and defence, and submitted to the court when Tee pleaded guilty on June 27, AGC said.
“Tee’s status as a student was not material to charges that he had faced and was not a factor taken into consideration for sentencing,” the spokesman added.
The AGC noted NUS’ clarification that Tee had no affiliation with the university and said the police are looking into Tee’s claim of being an NUS student.
In February 2024, Tee rented a Mercedes-Benz car and played “blocking and braking games” on the ECP with a motorcycle, whose pillion rider was Ms Leann Lim Jia Le.
Tee, driving at speeds of up to 160kmh, then asked his passengers, “Do you want to see motorcycle fly?”
When Tee saw that the motorcycle was about to overtake him, he immediately swerved his car to block it.
His car swiped the motorcycle, causing both Ms Lim and the motorcycle rider, Mr Kovan Tan, 27, to be flung about 5m to 8m away.
Ms Lim sustained significant brain injury and died in hospital as a result of the collision, while Mr Tan suffered multiple abrasions and a laceration on his right hand.
Tee was arrested at the scene and lied to the police, saying that the motorcycle was “tailgating (him) and was high-beaming (him)”. He was later released on bail.
After his release from police custody, Tee met his friend, who asked if he was afraid following the incident.
Tee replied, “Why scared?” He then added, “Who ask her to piss me off? The accident (that) caused her death is what she deserved.”
