Driver jailed 3 weeks for aggressively switching lanes, colliding with a police car and causing it to ram into a shophouse
He was also disqualified from holding all classes of licences for 3 years and and ordered to compensate shophouse about S$2,000
SINGAPORE — A 44-year-old man pleaded guilty to one charge of driving without due care or reasonable consideration, after he aggressively changed lanes without checking for other cars, leading to a collision with a police car that crashed into a shophouse.
Clement Chia Tian Xiang was sentenced to three weeks' jail, reported The Straits Times on Thursday (4 April). He was also disqualified from holding all classes of licences for three years and was instructed to compensate the shophouse with $1,962.40.
Two other charges were considered in the sentencing, one for failing to drive within road markers and another for crossing a double white line.
How did the collision happen?
Prosecution said that past midnight on 11 November 2022, Chia was driving along Jalan Besar Road towards Bencoolen Street. Footage from his in-car camera was played in court, showing his vehicle initially in the first lane out of four.
He then aggressively drove across two lanes, failing to notice a police car slowing down in front of him. The collision between Chia's car and the police vehicle was forceful enough to dislodge the in-car camera.
Court-produced photographs of the aftermath revealed that the police car was thrusted into a shophouse. The front and rear bumpers of the police car were dislodged or damaged in the collision.
A 25-year-old police officer who was driving the police vehicle was taken to Tan Tock Seng Hospital and diagnosed with a back sprain. It was uncertain whether Chia suffered any injuries from the impact.
Chia's history of careless driving
The court heard that Chia had multiple similar charges previously, including careless driving, failing to stop after an accident, failing to give assistance after an accident, and being incapable of controlling his vehicle. In Chia's mitigation, he apologised and said he would be more careful in future.
Chia, who requested a four-week deferment, was chided by District Judge Salina Ishak for driving to court alone despite pleading guilty.
Offenders facing imprisonment who plead guilty could be required to begin serving their jail term immediately upon sentencing. The judge told Chia he should not assume the court would grant his deferment application.
He will start serving his sentence on 3 May.
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