Hui Sai Mun, 57, pleaded guilty to causing hurt by a rash act that endangered the personal safety of New Ah Chew, 51, and his wife Wei Xiaohui, 42.
The crash occurred on the evening of May 27 last year, when New and his wife were travelling on a mobility scooter along a pavement near Block 165 Yishun Ring Road.
The couple had noticed Hui approaching at speed and Wei, who was in the passenger seat, instructed her husband to pull over so that the other man could pass, the court heard.
However, Hui did not slow down and careered into the left side of New’s scooter, causing it to flip on its side and sending the couple tumbling to the ground.
Rather than stop, Hui was seen by an eyewitness to speed up, Deputy Public Prosecutor Yeo Zhen Xiong told the court.
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The eyewitness, Muhammad Hafeez Raimi, had heard the collision and gone over to help the couple lying on the ground. Hafeez his friends chased after Hui, Yeo said, and initially lost sight of him, but later spotted him lying on the pavement about 1km away on Yishun Avenue 2. Hafeez then called the police.
New sustained a fractured left ankle while his wife’s left leg was bruised with mild tenderness over her left toes.
Seeking a jail term of between two and four weeks, Yeo said that the injuries caused to both victims, in particular New’s ankle fracture, was a cause of grievous hurt.
He also said that Hui’s intoxication was particularly aggravating since it was clear that he was incapable of taking care of himself but chose to operate the mobility scooter anyway.
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Representing Hui, defence counsel Lee Chuan sought one to two weeks’ jail for his client and urged the court to exercise leniency on account that Hui was the sole carer for his terminally ill wife.
Lee also said that his client was deeply remorseful and hoped to make payment to the victims for their medical fees.
Hui was sentenced to two weeks’ jail on Friday. Another charge for becoming drunk and incapable of taking care of himself in a public place was taken into consideration during sentencing.
For causing hurt to a person by doing a rash act, Hui could have been jailed for up to one year or fined up to S$5,000 (US$3,725), or both.