Lorry driver in fatal accident in Yio Chu Kang fined for driving without valid licence, insurance
SINGAPORE — A lorry driver accused of killing three pedestrians at an accident outside Yio Chu Kang MRT was fined $1,400 and banned from driving for a year for driving without a valid license and insurance on Monday (14 October).
Xu Kai Xiang, 27, was driving a lorry that belonged to his father’s company, Chang Fu, when he got into the accident on 23 April last year.
The Singapore permanent resident was given a discharge not amounting to an acquittal on 3 October for the charge relating to the deaths of the pedestrians, pending a coroner’s inquiry into the case. This means that his charge has been temporarily dropped and may be revived later depending on the coroner’s findings.
Xu, a Chinese national, pleaded guilty to one count of driving the lorry without a Class 3 driving licence and another count of driving without insurance.
He had obtained a Class 3 provisional driving licence, which expired on 17 February last year.
On 21 August 2017, he obtained a Class 3A qualified driving licence, which did not cover lorry vehicles.
Xu did not tell his father that he did not have a valid licence. His father believed that he had a valid license to drive a lorry and let his son drive the company lorry as well as his personal car.
From 8 April last year, Xu would drive the company’s workers daily.
He was driving the lorry to collect a parcel when the accident happened. According to his previous charge sheet, Xu was driving along Ang Mo Kio Avenue 6 towards Marymount Road when he lost control of his lorry along the three-lane road.
His lorry then mounted the left kerb, collided into the railings, surged forward and collided into Gina Chua Aye Wah, 58, her father Chua Cheng Thong, 86, and Yap Soon Huat, 63, who were walking along the pavement.
The lorry then ran into an SBS bus, which was stationary at the entrance of Yio Chu Kang Bus Interchange, before crashing into bollards and coming to a halt.
For his offences, Xu could have been jailed up to three months or fined up to $1,000 for each count of driving without a licence and driving without insurance.
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