A drink driver was given a sentence to jail and a driving ban on Friday ( Aug 16 ), after colliding with three cyclists along Nicoll Highway, sending one flying above the vehicle before hitting the ground face-first.
One of the cyclists suffered multiple injuries and bleeding in the bone as a result of the incident, which occurred in the early hours of the morning.
Mohamed Akhtar Yusoff Marican, a 41-year-old Singaporean, was sentenced to eight months and four weeks ‘ jail, fined S$ 5, 000 ( S$ 3, 790 ) and banned from driving for seven years.
He admitted guilt on three counts, including driving while intoxicated, not paying interest, and not responding to an accident. Another two claims were taken into consideration.
WHAT HAPPENED
After drinking alcohol at a table in the Golden Mile Shopping Centre on June 3, 2022, Akhtar was found driving a rented dark Audi vehicle home.
Feeling “high”, he drove in the middle alley of Nicoll Highway at around 1.50am on Jun 4, 2022.
A group of five riders were also cycling along Guillemard Road’s leftmost street on the Nicoll Highway at the same time.
They were all wearing appropriate safety equipment and had their bicycles ‘ rear lights turned on as a group of people planning to routine towards East Coast Park.
At around 2.05am, Akhtar instantly changed roads, colliding first with a rider aged 48.
The biker was thrown into the air. He flew above the vehicle and hit the ground face-first.
Then, in a 47-year-old person and woman’s bicycles, Akhtar and two more struck. The girl was thrown into a wall while the male lurched forward from the impact.
Akhtar continued to drive and sped off without realizing it.
A third rider yelled for assistance after lagged behind the three bikers. Another group of cyclists and passengers from two stopped-by cars assisted in coordinating transportation and calling the police.
Akhtar called a companion and drove along Sims Avenue until he realized the bonnet on his car was damaged a few minutes after.
A traffic police officer located Akhtar and tracked him down after he was discovered that he had a strong liquor odor. Akhtar made amends to this and was taken into custody after failing a breathalyzer exam.
Alcohol content in 100ml of Akhtar’s mouth, over the legal limit of 35 microgrammes, was determined by a breath evidentiary exam at the customers police headquarters.
The three riders who were injured were taken to a doctor. The worst-hit one, who was launched into the atmosphere, suffered injuries to his hip, face and breast.
He had to have an emergency implantation of an cerebral force screen due to bleeding in the brain, and he later underwent surgery to fix his broken ankle and shoulder blade.
He was hospitalised from Jun 4 to Jun 21 in 2022 and given 52 time’ of hospitalisation left.
The other man cyclist was discharged the same day with a leg bruise and pain in her right ankle, while the female cyclist received a second discharge.
She eventually had a follow-up session for a” trauma to the mind” patient who had a persistent headache that spanned both shoulders and spatial vertigo.
The bike cost S$ 3, 638, S$ 603 and S$ 365 to fix, while the Audi had its entrance bonnet shattered, the entrance gate broken, the top car misaligned, dented and scratched and the left wing picture broken off.
After the incident, the riders called for testimony in a  , Facebook post on SG Road Vigilante, saying a “brother of ours has been badly injured” and that the vehicle’s “reckless activity has almost damage (ed ) 3 people instantly”.
The attorney demanded a seven to eight-year driving restrictions for Akhtar, as well as a great of S$ 5, 000 to S$ 6, 000, and prison terms ranging from nine months and a week to fifteen months and two days.
He noted the injury on the patients, especially the first one, and house damage to the bike.
The accused driver had no recollection of the incident because he was so drunk throughout the entire travel on the Nicoll Highway. The attorney claimed that this was particularly dangerous given that there were several cyclists bicycling along the Nicoll Highway at this time.
The amount of alcohol in Akhtar’s breath was more than double the legal limit, and there was” no good reason” for him to drive home after drinking hard liquor, he said.
Akhtar has a prior conviction from 2005 for speeding.