Lawyer admits to causing motorcyclist's death by negligent driving
A lawyer drove a car in a negligent manner in 2018, causing the death of a motorcyclist from head and neck injuries.
Laurence Goh Eng Yau was on the first lane of the Ayer Rajah Expressway (AYE) on Sept 12 that year when vehicles ahead of him came to a standstill due to traffic congestion.
Seeing that the car right in front of him had stopped moving, he swerved to the left to avoid a collision and sideswiped Malaysian motorcyclist Wong Yew Wai, 33, who was travelling on the second lane.
As a result, Mr Wong was pushed to the third lane and a lorry rolled over him. He was later pronounced dead at the scene.
Goh pleaded guilty on Monday (April 11) to causing the motorcyclist's death by performing a negligent act.
A search on the Ministry of Law's website showed that the 57-year-old is the sole proprietor of a firm called Laurence Goh Eng Yau & Co.
The court heard that, shortly before the fatal accident, he was driving a car on the AYE towards Tuas at around 5pm on Sept 12, 2018.
Goh was going at about 75kmh to 80kmh, with the speed limit there being 90kmh.
At around 5.19pm, he noticed that the car in front of him had braked and stopped due to the congestion ahead.
Goh's car was, however, too near to the rear of this other vehicle.
Goh then abruptly swerved to the left and into the second lane to avoid a collision without checking properly to ensure that there was no oncoming traffic nearby.
He sideswiped Mr Wong's motorcycle and it ended up in the path of a moving lorry.
The lorry driver was unable to stop his vehicle in time and it ran over Mr Wong before coming to a stop.
As for Goh's car, it eventually came to a stop between the second and third lanes of the AYE.
The police were notified at around 5.20pm and paramedics later pronounced Mr Wong dead at the scene.
On Monday, defence lawyer Ramesh Tiwary told the court that his client is remorseful and stressed that he had not been speeding.
Goh is expected to be sentenced on April 29.
For causing a death by performing a negligent act, an offender can be jailed for up to two years and fined.
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