Teen biker linked to LTA officer’s fatal crash set to plead guilty on Jan 10
The teen allegedly involved in a motorcycle chase that caused the death of a Land Transport Authority (LTA) officer intends to plead guilty on Jan 10, 2025.
The 19-year-old motorcyclist, who has been remanded since June after the fatal accident, had been expected to admit to his offences on Nov 15.
But his defence lawyer, Mr Foo Ho Chew, applied for the case to be adjourned, saying the prosecution’s address on sentence was just handed to the lawyer in November.
The prosecution had no objections to this and Deputy Principal District Judge Kessler Soh granted the adjournment.
The accused faces 13 charges, including riding a motorcycle in a dangerous manner, weapon possession and drug consumption.
The weapon was a samurai sword with 40-cm blade and a red sheath.
He is also accused of giving up details of his Singpass account to an unknown person on messaging platform Telegram for promised loans of $300.
The teen cannot be named, as he was 17 years old when he allegedly consumed methamphetamine. Those below 18 are protected under the Children and Young Persons Act.
On the morning of June 4, he was believed to have ridden a motorcycle without a valid licence on Seletar Expressway towards Bukit Timah Expressway.
He allegedly did not stop when a uniformed LTA officer, Mr Zdulfika Ahakasah, ordered him to do so.
Instead, he was said to have ridden in a dangerous manner to evade the officer by cutting across two lanes and a chevron marking of an expressway divider.
Mr Zdulfika, 26, crashed his motorcycle while chasing the teen near an expressway exit and died in hospital.
A video of the incident posted on Facebook shows the motorcyclist being pursued and making a sudden swerve to the right, cutting into the path of a lorry.
The video shows Mr Zdulfika following closely behind before crashing his motorcycle into a road divider.
On July 22, the teen’s application to be granted bail was rejected.
He had told District Judge James Elisha Lee that one of his siblings was going to jail soon over a drug-related offence, and their mother would be alone.
He said he would like to keep her company.
But a police prosecutor urged the court to reject the bail application, stressing that the youngster was a flight risk after absconding in October 2023 before he was to be taken to a community rehabilitation centre.
For riding a motorcycle in a dangerous manner, an offender can be jailed for up to 12 months, fined up to $5,000, or both.
If convicted of possessing a scheduled weapon, a person can be jailed for up to five years and given up to six strokes of the cane.
For consuming methamphetamine, an offender can be jailed for between one and 10 years, fined $20,000, or both.
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