SINGAPORE: A former bus driver was on Thursday (Dec 13) jailed for a week and banned from driving for four years for colliding into a 46-year-old woman, killing her.
Kwa Ah Bah, 67, was before this a safe driver, his defence lawyer Simon Tan said, because his own daughter and mother had died in a traffic accident in 1977.
AdvertisementThe court heard that Kwa was driving his SBS Transit bus along Jalan Boon Lay, towards Boon Lay Way, on the leftmost lane at about 6.30am on Nov 8 last year.
As he went around a slight bend, the victim Tan Meow Hiang crossed the road from the right to the left, stepping off the centre divider.
She crossed two of the three lanes, but Kwa did not notice her or slow down until she was right in front of his bus.
He applied his brakes and swerved, but could not avoid colliding into Ms Tan, who suffered multiple injuries. She died in hospital that same day.
AdvertisementAdvertisementInvestigations found that Ms Tan, a Malaysian who was a Singapore permanent resident, had left her home in Johor Bahru at 4.30am that morning and was on her way to work.
"The location where the accident took place was not a pedestrian crossing," the prosecutor told the court. "However, the deceased was not jaywalking as there was no pedestrian crossing or overhead bridge within 50m of the location the deceased crossed the road."
He added that video footage from the bus' front facing in-vehicle camera shows that Ms Tan was visible from Kwa's point of view, and could be seen stepping off the centre divider and crossing the road.
Kwa's defence lawyer said his client had worked for SBS Transit for more than 40 years and had a clean driving record.
"This matter has taken a mental and emotional toll on him after he was unceremoniously sacked by SBS Transit and he had to retire," said the defence. "He lost all his benefits and privileges that he would have received had he retired."
For causing death by a negligent act, Kwa could have been jailed for up to two years and fined.
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