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Man who caused grandmother's death in accident fined $8,000

Singapore's State Courts (Yahoo file photo)
Singapore’s State Courts (Yahoo file photo)

He enjoyed a close relationship with his grandmother. Yet, in a cruel twist of fate, it was he who caused her death after crashing into a taxi while sending her to a hospital.

On Friday (20 Jan), 23-year-old Oh Jia Hao was fined $8,000 and disqualified from driving for five years after pleading guilty to one charge of causing death by a negligent act.

According to the statement of facts, Oh failed to conform to the traffic red light signal at a T-junction along Lentor Avenue towards the direction of Yishun Avenue 2 on 31 December 2015 at about 5.41 pm.

The light had turned red for about four seconds, but Oh continued driving straight. He then crashed into a taxi, which had the right of way.

The collision caused 76-year-old Lim Ah Moi, who was seated at the back, to be trapped between the front and back seats.

Lim was extricated in six minutes and sent to Khoo Teck Puat Hospital in an unconscious state. She suffered a depressed skull fracture, and was pronounced dead about one hour after the accident.

The taxi driver and his four Finnish passengers were all sent to the same hospital, but did not sustain any serious injuries.

A psychiatric report presented by the defence revealed that Oh has been deeply affected by the tragic event. He suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder after the accident and has been blaming himself for causing the death of his grandmother.

Oh’s father, who was present for the hearing along with two other family members, had also submitted a letter to the court as part of the defence’s mitigation plea.

Before meting out her sentence, District Judge Jasvender Kaur noted the several mitigating factors. She also pointed out that Oh had been distracted because he was talking to his grandmother.

She also told Oh that “what has happened, has happened”, and hopes he will forgive himself and make amends.