SINGAPORE: A lorry driver collided with a 21-year-old motorcyclist while making a right turn near a cemetery in Lim Chu Kang, killing the national serviceman on the spot.
Jumade Dafir, 59, was sentenced on Friday (Jan 12) to three weeks’ jail and banned from driving for eight years.
He pleaded guilty to one charge of driving without reasonable consideration and causing death, with another two charges for injuring his lorry passengers taken into consideration.
The court heard that Jumade was a lorry driver for a waste management company.
At about 5.55pm on Apr 15, 2022, Jumade was driving his lorry along the Muslim Cemetery Path 17 towards Lim Chu Kang Road, with his wife and another relative in the front cabin and five other family members in the back of the lorry.
At the junction turning out into Lim Chu Kang Road towards Jalan Bahar, Jumade slowed down but did not stop.
At the time, the victim, 21-year-old Goh Kai Yeow, was riding on his motorcycle along Lim Chu Kang Road towards Lim Chu Kang End.
Mr Goh, who had the right of way, was wearing a compliant motorcycle helmet and was approaching the junction from the right side of Jumade.
Jumade failed to give way as he made his right turn into Lim Chu Kang Road. By the time he noticed the victim, the length of the lorry had straddled all three lanes of Lim Chu Kang Road, the prosecutor said.
Jumade braked but it was too late. The front portion of the victim’s motorcycle collided with the front of the lorry with such impact that the lorry spun anti-clockwise.
The force of the collision flung Mr Goh off his motorcycle. The motorbike remained lodged in the front portion of the lorry while Mr Goh landed on the road.
Jumade was dazed but unhurt by the collision. The two passengers in the front suffered injuries – Jumade’s wife had a spinal fracture and injuries to her eye, while Jumade’s other relative suffered pain on her scalp.
Jumade immediately stopped the lorry and his relatives alighted to help the injuried, including Mr Goh. Jumade’s nephew called for an ambulance.
It arrived soon after, along with the police. Mr Goh was pronounced dead at the scene.
Speed estimation analysis and collision avoidance analysis based on video footage concluded that the average speed of the motorcycle at the time of the accident was 134kmh to 158kmh.
The report from the Forensic Chemistry and Physics Laboratory of the Health Sciences Authority said the motorcycle could have stopped before the collision if it had been travelling at the speed limit of 70kmh.
The report also stated that the collision could have been avoided if the lorry driver had stopped, seen the motorcycle at least 94m to 160m away, and waited before entering Lim Chu Kang Road.
The prosecutor sought one to three months’ jail and eight years’ ban from driving.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Huo Jiong Rui said Jumade’s culpability was diminished as the victim’s speed, which was far higher than the limit, “materially contributed to the accident”.
However, Mr Huo noted Jumade’s poor driving record and the charges for the hurt caused to the other passengers in the lorry.
He has past violations for running red lights, speeding and failing to wear a seat belt.
For driving without reasonable consideration and causing death, Jumade could have been jailed for up to three years, fined up to S$10,000, or both.