SINGAPORE - A 37-year old taxi driver who crashed his vehicle into a 28-year-old man, causing him to lose both his legs, was on Monday (Dec 21) jailed for one week and disqualified from driving for two years.

Malik Samat pleaded guilty to a charge of causing grievous hurt by doing a negligent act so as to endanger human life.

He also admitted to a count of hurting a passenger, who was in his taxi at the time of the accident.

The court heard that at about 11pm on Nov 17, 2014, Mr Ng Xin Yun, 28, alighted from his lorry, which had broken down, on the third lane of the Pan Island Expressway, in the direction of Tuas, to place a breakdown sign a few metres behind his vehicle.

Malik was driving his taxi on the same lane of the five-lane expressway.

At about five to six car lengths away from the lorry, near the Eng Neo exit, Malik saw the lorry and thought that it was slow moving.

He was checking his blind spots, in preparation to overtake the lorry, when his passenger, Mr Chen Chee Wei, 50, shouted at him to alert him that the lorry was stationary and that someone was standing behind it.

Mr Ng was walking back towards his lorry, which had its rear lights on, after setting up the breadown sign.

Malik mistakenly stepped on the accelerator instead of his brakes, and ran into Mr Ng.

Both of Mr Ng's legs were severely crushed and had to be amputated. He also developed complications from his injuries, such as severe blood poisoning, kidney injury, and wound infections above both knee amputation stumps.

He was discharged after two months in hospital and given three months of medical leave.

Mr Chen, meanwhile, received outpatient treatment and was discharged with three days of medical leave.

He had a swollen right arm and suffered a knock to the head, and had pain on the right side of his face and body.

For causing grievous hurt by doing an act so negligent as to endanger human life, Malik could have been jailed for up to two years and fined up to $5,000.