A 70-year-old taxi driver was jailed for four weeks and banned from driving for eight years for accidentally killing a 51-year-old man with his taxi at Paya Lebar Square's taxi stand.

Dozed off while queueing for customer

According to CNA, the accident occurred on Oct. 4, 2021.

Tan Yu Seng dozed off while queueing for a customer and woke up to honks from other taxis behind him, wanting him to fill the gap in front.

He then lost control of his taxi when he pressed the accelerator.

The taxi rammed into three parked motorcycles and collided with the victim, who was standing in between the motorcycles.

The victim was flung onto the taxi's bonnet before landing on the ground.

He suffered severe injuries and died in hospital 15 days later, on Oct. 19, of multiple organ failure caused by injuries typically associated with a motor vehicle collision.

'Rather unusual' accident: Defence lawyer

Tan pleaded guilty to a charge of driving without due care and attention, resulting in a collision that caused death.

According to CNA, Tan's lawyer said his client had 30 years of experience as a taxi driver.

The lawyer called the accident "rather unusual" because it did not happen along the road.

He claimed that the victim would not have died "in the ordinary course of events" if not for his underlying liver cirrhosis.

The lawyer also said that Tan had stopped driving a taxi and pleaded for the judge to take into account Tan's various health conditions, including high blood pressure, diabetes, high cholesterol, and skin cancer.

He asked for a fine or "minimum jail sentence".

However, the prosecution said their asking sentence of a month to three months in jail was already lower than usual, considering the "unusual" circumstances.

Tan could have been jailed for up to three years, fined up to S$10,000, or both.

The stipulated disqualification period for the offence is eight years unless otherwise ordered by the court.

Top image from Google Maps.