A 17-year-old tourist from Vietnam has been sentenced to a short detention order of seven days for borrowing an overweight personal mobility device (PMD), riding it against traffic and crashing into a jaywalking pedestrian afterwards.

On Dec. 18, Nguyen Doan Nam pleaded guilty to causing hurt by a rash act which endangered the personal safety of others, according to court documents seen by Mothership.

The incident had happened on May 20 earlier this year, along Geylang Road at about 10.03am in the morning.

The victim, 37-year-old Teo Kok Hua, had been sent flying forward for half a metre upon impact.

Accident occurred while returning from the supermarket

The court heard that the accident had occurred while Nguyen had been returning from a nearby supermarket after purchasing food.

At that time, Nguyen, together with another friend as pillion, had been riding along Geylang Road in the direction of Kallang Road, against the flow of traffic while sticking close to the kerb.

Meanwhile, Teo was crossing the road.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Kenneth Chin noted that while this was done was within 50m of a “No Pedestrian Crossing” sign, Teo had also checked for oncoming traffic prior to crossing.

As such, Teo's jaywalking did not reduce the culpability of Nguyen riding against the flow of traffic, Chin added.

Victim sent to Tan Tock Seng Hospital

Teo subsequently sustained multiple abrasions on his right elbow, right knee, and a cut on his left foot, while Nguyen and his pillion were unhurt.

The victim was taken to Tan Tock Seng Hospital for treatment, whereupon he was then discharged on May 21, with four days of medical leave.

PMD was purchased in Malaysia

As for the PMD in question, police investigations revealed that the device had been purchased from Malaysia and did not conform to the Active Mobility Act (AMA) as it had an unladen weight of more than 20kg.

The court further heard that Nguyen had borrowed the PMD from a friend, Quang Vung for the trip to the supermarket.

Additionally, it was also unregistered.

As such, coupled with the relatively high speed that Nguyen was travelling on the road against traffic, this made the manner in which he rode the PMD "egregious", Chin stated.

Top image screenshot from Google Maps

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