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Firefighter handed 9 months jail for causing death of motorcyclist
By Claire Huang | Posted: 27 November 2012 1401 hrs
SINGAPORE: A firefighter who caused the death of a motorcyclist has been sentenced to nine months' jail and disqualified from driving for seven years.
Twenty-seven-year-old Hafizudin Zulkarnain admitted to driving dangerously at the junction of Sengkang East Avenue and Sengkang East Road at about 1:00am on 8 May, 2009.
He beat the red light and accelerated his car without checking if there were oncoming vehicles.
He then hit a 20-year-old motorcyclist, Mr Syed Faruk Syed Anwar Alkaff.
In his mitigating plea on Tuesday, Hafizudin's lawyer, Mr Rajan Supramaniam, told the court that the father of three has been a very careful driver and that this was his first traffic offence.
Mr Supramaniam said his client was on an outing that day with his wife, daughter and brother and did not set out to take a life.
He said Hafizudin's case is not a classic drink-driving situation or one where he drove without a licence.
The punishment, he said, should be on the lower end of the scale.
The lawyer added that Hafizudin is genuinely remorseful and has good character.
But the prosecution highlighted the aggravating factors, saying the accused was rash and had been conscious of the consequences of his act.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Yang Ziliang said what made it worse was that Hafizudin had accelerated to get past the cross-junction after he realised that the traffic light had turned red.
District Judge Mathew Joseph agreed with the prosecution.
In sentencing, the judge noted the mitigating factors but said this was a tragic case with the "loss of a very young life".
"You'll be carrying this guilt with you through this life," said the judge.
He urged Hafizudin to reflect on what had happened.
- CNA/ck
