SINGAPORE: An electric bicycle rider who sped up to escape a Land Transport Authority (LTA) officer but landed in a drain instead was sentenced to three weeks' jail on Tuesday (Apr 9).
Sheikh Fadhil Belkhir Omar, 27, pleaded guilty to one charge of performing a rash act, with another charge of using an unregistered e-bike taken into consideration.
The court heard that Sheikh was riding his e-bike along Upper Jurong Road towards the Pan Island Expressway (PIE) on the morning of Feb 9 last year when an officer with LTA's Active Mobility Enforcement Section gestured for him to stop for checks.
Sheikh knew that the person asking him to stop was an LTA officer, said Deputy Public Prosecutor Suhas Malhotra.
Instead of stopping, he decided to try to escape as he did not want to be fined and have his device confiscated, the court heard.
Sheikh increased the speed of his device and swerved abruptly, crossing three lanes from the leftmost lane to the right before zigzagging back to the left.
"The accused was riding so fast that he then lost control of his (e-bike) and collided with the road kerb," the prosecutor told the court. "He was flung off his (e-bike) and landed in a drain."
The LTA officer then caught up to Sheikh and discovered that his e-bike was unregistered.
Sheikh, who had fainted in the drain, was taken to hospital with multiple abrasions on his leg and chin, as well as a head injury. He was discharged later that day with five days' hospitalisation leave.
District Judge Marvin Bay ordered for the e-bike to be forfeited.
For committing a rash act endangering life or personal safety, Sheikh could have been jailed for up to six months, fined a maximum S$2,500, or both.
Read more at https://www.channelnewsasia.com/new...-fell-drain-fleeing-lta-officer-jail-11425972
Sheikh Fadhil Belkhir Omar, 27, pleaded guilty to one charge of performing a rash act, with another charge of using an unregistered e-bike taken into consideration.
The court heard that Sheikh was riding his e-bike along Upper Jurong Road towards the Pan Island Expressway (PIE) on the morning of Feb 9 last year when an officer with LTA's Active Mobility Enforcement Section gestured for him to stop for checks.
Sheikh knew that the person asking him to stop was an LTA officer, said Deputy Public Prosecutor Suhas Malhotra.
Instead of stopping, he decided to try to escape as he did not want to be fined and have his device confiscated, the court heard.
Sheikh increased the speed of his device and swerved abruptly, crossing three lanes from the leftmost lane to the right before zigzagging back to the left.
"The accused was riding so fast that he then lost control of his (e-bike) and collided with the road kerb," the prosecutor told the court. "He was flung off his (e-bike) and landed in a drain."
The LTA officer then caught up to Sheikh and discovered that his e-bike was unregistered.
Sheikh, who had fainted in the drain, was taken to hospital with multiple abrasions on his leg and chin, as well as a head injury. He was discharged later that day with five days' hospitalisation leave.
District Judge Marvin Bay ordered for the e-bike to be forfeited.
For committing a rash act endangering life or personal safety, Sheikh could have been jailed for up to six months, fined a maximum S$2,500, or both.
Read more at https://www.channelnewsasia.com/new...-fell-drain-fleeing-lta-officer-jail-11425972
