SINGAPORE: In his attempt to escape the traffic at an international school, a Gojek private-hire driver caught in a slip road inched his vehicle forward, injuring a traffic controller who had asked him to wait his turn.
Darryl K Tan Swee Heng, 43, was convicted on Wednesday (Mar 18) of one count of a rash act endangering the personal safety of others, which he had contested in vain.
The court heard that Tan, a Singaporean, had received a job on his Gojek application to pick up passengers from Dulwich College in Bukit Batok sometime before 4pm on Mar 24, 2023.
According to him, when he got there, security officers at the gate told him it would be dismissal time soon and that he should try to leave quickly if possible.
At the drop-off point at the performing arts centre, Tan picked up his passengers. When he was about to leave, traffic controllers deployed a barricade that blocked his way onto the main road.
This was to allow school buses to leave the campus. Tan waited for some time before sounding his car horn, the prosecution said.
The victim, who was leading a team of school personnel so that vehicles would give way to exiting school buses, approached Tan with his colleagues.
They explained why there was a hold-up and asked Tan to wait for his turn to leave the slip road.
However, Tan grew increasingly anxious, said Deputy Public Prosecutor Chan Yi Cheng. He noticed that his passengers were young children and he asked them to alight, as he was not prepared to transport them without child seats.
He cancelled the job and wanted to quickly leave the school and go somewhere else to get other bookings, said Mr Chan.
He again sounded his horn and signalled that he wanted to leave, but was told to wait.
At this time, the victim adjusted the barricade to cover all the gaps in front of Tan's vehicle as he was worried that Tan would drive through.
The victim then stood behind the barricade, blocking Tan. At the same time, Tan released his brakes and inched his vehicle forward.
The vehicle collided with the barricade, and both the vehicle and the barricade came into contact with the victim. The victim felt the bumper of the vehicle pushing against his shin, and his colleagues shouted at Tan to stop.
The victim felt pain in his leg and moved out of the way. At this time, cars at the slip road were allowed to leave as the buses had left.
The victim sought medical treatment and was given two days' medical leave.
At trial, Tan said he did not intend to cause hurt to anyone and said he was unaware at the time that he had collided with the victim.
The prosecutor, Mr Chan, said the evidence pointed towards Chan taking a "conscious and deliberate risk" when moving his vehicle forward.
Tan had admitted to being increasingly frustrated when he was required to wait and was not allowed to move out of the school. He also said he became increasingly anxious, especially after the original booking was cancelled.
He admitted during investigations that he had moved the vehicle forward "without focusing on his front" and that he had intended to just "push the barricade away slowly", "hoping that the guard will know my anxiety to get out of the place as soon as possible", Mr Chan said.
He argued that Tan was an evasive witness, unable to provide answers to simple questions and flip-flopping on answers.
"The accused's actions showed a blatant disregard of the safety of others, when he inched the vehicle forward in a controlled junction, hoping to escape the hold-up in order to get new private-hire jobs on his Gojek app," said Mr Chan.
Tan will return to court for mitigation and sentencing in April.
For doing a rash act endangering the personal safety of others, he could be jailed for up to a year, fined up to S$5,000 (US$3,900), or both.
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Darryl K Tan Swee Heng, 43, was convicted on Wednesday (Mar 18) of one count of a rash act endangering the personal safety of others, which he had contested in vain.
The court heard that Tan, a Singaporean, had received a job on his Gojek application to pick up passengers from Dulwich College in Bukit Batok sometime before 4pm on Mar 24, 2023.
According to him, when he got there, security officers at the gate told him it would be dismissal time soon and that he should try to leave quickly if possible.
At the drop-off point at the performing arts centre, Tan picked up his passengers. When he was about to leave, traffic controllers deployed a barricade that blocked his way onto the main road.
This was to allow school buses to leave the campus. Tan waited for some time before sounding his car horn, the prosecution said.
The victim, who was leading a team of school personnel so that vehicles would give way to exiting school buses, approached Tan with his colleagues.
They explained why there was a hold-up and asked Tan to wait for his turn to leave the slip road.
ASKED PASSENGERS TO LEAVE
However, Tan grew increasingly anxious, said Deputy Public Prosecutor Chan Yi Cheng. He noticed that his passengers were young children and he asked them to alight, as he was not prepared to transport them without child seats.
He cancelled the job and wanted to quickly leave the school and go somewhere else to get other bookings, said Mr Chan.
He again sounded his horn and signalled that he wanted to leave, but was told to wait.
At this time, the victim adjusted the barricade to cover all the gaps in front of Tan's vehicle as he was worried that Tan would drive through.
The victim then stood behind the barricade, blocking Tan. At the same time, Tan released his brakes and inched his vehicle forward.
The vehicle collided with the barricade, and both the vehicle and the barricade came into contact with the victim. The victim felt the bumper of the vehicle pushing against his shin, and his colleagues shouted at Tan to stop.
The victim felt pain in his leg and moved out of the way. At this time, cars at the slip road were allowed to leave as the buses had left.
The victim sought medical treatment and was given two days' medical leave.
At trial, Tan said he did not intend to cause hurt to anyone and said he was unaware at the time that he had collided with the victim.
The prosecutor, Mr Chan, said the evidence pointed towards Chan taking a "conscious and deliberate risk" when moving his vehicle forward.
Tan had admitted to being increasingly frustrated when he was required to wait and was not allowed to move out of the school. He also said he became increasingly anxious, especially after the original booking was cancelled.
He admitted during investigations that he had moved the vehicle forward "without focusing on his front" and that he had intended to just "push the barricade away slowly", "hoping that the guard will know my anxiety to get out of the place as soon as possible", Mr Chan said.
He argued that Tan was an evasive witness, unable to provide answers to simple questions and flip-flopping on answers.
"The accused's actions showed a blatant disregard of the safety of others, when he inched the vehicle forward in a controlled junction, hoping to escape the hold-up in order to get new private-hire jobs on his Gojek app," said Mr Chan.
Tan will return to court for mitigation and sentencing in April.
For doing a rash act endangering the personal safety of others, he could be jailed for up to a year, fined up to S$5,000 (US$3,900), or both.
Continue reading...