The 4 seconds that sparked a riot
The bus accident that resulted in Indian national Sakthivel Kumaravelu's death on Race Course Road took four seconds.
But the effect on Singapore will last for a long time as it sparked the Dec 8 Little India riot last year.
Details of the accident were revealed yesterday after the Attorney-General's Chambers (AGC) said that bus driver Lee Kim Huat, 55, who ran over Mr Sakthivel, 33, will not be charged.
It said that the Traffic Police submitted their investigation papers last month.
"Having reviewed the evidence in the investigation papers submitted, the Public Prosecutor has determined that no offence was committed by the driver in relation to the fatal accident.
"As such, no further action will be taken against him," the AGC said in a statement yesterday.
Mr Lee was arrested on Dec 9 last year and released on bail pending investigations into whether he had committed any offence.
The bus driver was pulling out of Tekka Lane into Race Course Road when Mr Sakthivel, who was intoxicated at the time, ran after the bus, put his hand on it, then fell into its path.
Investigations showed that the time between Mr Sakthivel touching the bus and his fall was four seconds.
Based on a review of the evidence gathered during investigations, the AGC said that leading up to the accident, Mr Lee's attention had been engaged not only in avoiding the heavy human traffic in the vicinity of the bus, but also negotiating between the stationary and moving vehicles on Tekka Lane.
When the accident happened, Mr Lee was watching out for oncoming traffic on his right as he filtered out of Tekka Lane, into Race Course Road.
The AGC statement said that he "could not be expected to foresee that the deceased had run after the moving bus. Nor could the driver have expected that the deceased would fall into the path of the bus".
Get The New Paper on your phone with the free TNP app. Download from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store now