(Updated on 22 June, 12.50pm -- Added Tan Tarn How's statement)
The parents of Tan Mingwei, a Singaporean student who was killed in a hit-and-run accident in London in 2010, said their family has accepted the ruling by the London court to clear the bus driver of all charges and bear no ill feelings towards the driver.
Tan was the younger daughter of Singapore playwright and Institute of Policy Studies research fellow Tan Tarn How.
In a statement following the “not guilty” verdict by a London court, Tarn How said the matter had run its course and what happened was an accident. He also expressed gratitude to the many people who have helped the family for their support, reported local media.
Tan’s parents have also set up the Tan Mingwei Global Community Service Grant for students of University of Cambridge and National University of Singapore, hoping that “some good comes from her death”.
The grant that her parents have set up is an endowment to enable other students to do meaningful community work in developing countries, something their daughter enjoyed doing.
The bus driver, 52-year-old Shahriar Firouzan, was cleared of all charges on Wednesday after the judge issued a “not guilty” verdict, reported Channel NewsAsia.
The prosecution also withdrew its case after concluding that “there is no longer a realistic prospect of conviction”.
In Sep 2010, a double-decker bus driven by Firouzian ran over 20-year-old Tan Mingwei while she was crossing from Fleet Street to Pond Street in Hampstead.
Tan, a third-year Medical student at Cambridge University at that time, was found with serious injuries at around 2 am, after being dragged under Firouzian’s bus for 825 metres.
Passersby called for help upon discovering her body, but she was pronounced dead upon the paramedics’ arrival.
Firouzian was later arrested and put on trial for causing Tan’s death by careless driving, with the prosecution alleging that Firouzian should have kept a proper lookout for pedestrians.
In his statement to the police, Firouzian denied the allegation and claimed that he was all the while unaware that he had hit Tan, since he thought that he had “hit a fox” instead.
CCTV camera footage showed that the Iranian-born bus driver had slowed down to 3 kilometres per hour when he hit Tan.
Singaporean director Anthony Chen described as “surreal” the 15-minute standing ovation that followed the world premiere of his debut feature film "Ilo Ilo" at the Cannes Film Festival on Sunday. Though the ending of the premiere couldn’t have been more perfect, the 29-year-old Chen said the beginning was quite “nerve-wrecking” as it was marred by technical glitches.