Garbage truck driver gets jail and ban for causing fatal accident at carpark
Published on Nov 12, 2014 4:30 PM
By Elena Chong
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SINGAPORE - A garbage truck driver was jailed for eight months and banned from driving for 10 years on Wednesday for causing the death of a cyclist at an HDB open carpark.
Sum Yew Leong, 47, who pleaded guilty to causing death by a rash act, had disobeyed a no entry sign and entered the carpark against the flow of traffic, causing the tipper truck to hit and run over Mr Toh Char Meng, 54, before coming to a halt.
The accident took place near the open carpark of Block 87 Circuit Road at 9.13am on June 20 this year.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Elaine Liew said Sum, who was employed by SembWaste, was driving towards the rubbish collection centre in the carpark that morning when he took a short cut by driving straight towards it.
From the carpark area entrance, he was supposed to make a left turn and drive around the carpark to get to the rubbish collection centre.
After driving past the "no entry'' sign and also the stop line towards the rubbish collection centre, he made a left turn.
Mr Toh was cycling from his home to Geylang East Swimming Complex when Sum's tipper truck struck him. Sum felt a "bump'' and stopped the vehicle.
He alighted and saw a bicycle under the front right tyre of the tipper truck.
After taking a quick look, he went back into the tipper truck and reversed it.
While reversing, he saw Mr Toh lying on the road near the bicycle through his windscreen. He immediately stopped and called his supervisor.
Mr Toh died from multiple injuries at Tan Tock Seng Hospital at 10.32am that day.
Sum, who was unrepresented, tendered a written mitigation plea. He said he is taking care of his elder brother who suffers from haemophilia, an inherited condition that affects the blood's ability to clot.
He could have been jailed for up to five years and/or fined for causing death by doing a rash act.
