Negligent Driving Resulting in Death

The man who had pleaded guilty for causing death by negligent act not amounting to culpable homicide was sentenced to two weeks in jail yesterday.

The man was turning his truck at a cross junction in Tampines when he hit two brothers, aged 13 and 7, at the pedestrian crossing. The truck’s front tyre hit their bicycle, causing them to fall onto the road where they were run over by the truck’s rear tyre. This was witnessed by several pedestrians. The brothers died of multiple injuries.

After his release, the man will be banned from driving any vehicle for five years.

Singapore Lawyer Gloria James commented: “A rash act compromises a driver knowing of the risk of injury created by his or her driving and carrying on with it…whereas a negligent act is like a failure of duty-of-care principle when driving on the road.”

Ms James further noted that the courts seemed to have toughened their stance against negligence last year and further noted that the courts would also have considered other factors such as the speed and manner of the man’s driving.