Cabby who caused death of motorcyclist jailed for five weeks
A cabby who refused to give way, crossing into two lanes of incoming traffic and killing a motorcyclist was jailed for five weeks last Thursday.
Sim Kah Siong, 60, a City Cab driver, will also be disqualified from driving for four years after his release.
He pleaded guilty to a charge of causing death by negligent act.
Another charge of a negligent act causing grievous hurt was taken into consideration.
Sim was driving on the right lane along the two-lane Republic Avenue at 7.40pm on June 30, 2018, with a passenger.
A silver car ahead of him on the left lane signalled that it was going to switch lanes in front of him.
But instead of slowing down, Sim tried to overtake the car, veering right, over the road markings and into oncoming traffic. He veered so far that he crossed into both lanes of oncoming traffic.
A motorcycle that was on the furthest lane in the opposite direction was unable to brake in time. Sim did not even notice the motorcycle was headed towards his taxi.
The motorcycle crashed into the front right of the taxi.
The motorcyclist, a 40-year-old Malaysian man, was flung onto the road, while his pillion rider, a 31-year-old Malaysian man, was flung onto a grass patch nearby.
MULTITUDE OF INJURIES
The collision shattered the taxi's windscreen, crumpled its right bonnet and bumper, and cracked the headlight.
The badly damaged motorcycle was found more than 10m away.
The motorcyclist was taken to Singapore General Hospital and suffered what was described as a multitude of injuries to the court.
These included fractures to the ribs, spine and shoulder, amputation of fingers and forearm, damaged arteries causing more than 20 per cent blood loss, and torn tendons and muscles.
He died 15 days after the accident.
On Thursday, the court was told Sim had previous traffic offences for speeding and making an illegal U-turn.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Sunil Nair had urged the court to jail him for at least six weeks and disqualify him from driving for five years.
For causing death by a negligent act, Sim could have been jailed for up to two years, or fined, or both.
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