A 68-year-old Singaporean man was fined S$4,000 on Aug. 1, 2024, for driving over the foot of an auxiliary police officer at Woodlands checkpoint.

Miscommunication between the officer and Ng Hock Keong led to the driver running the right rear tyre of his car over the victim's left foot.

Ng pleaded guilty to one count of causing grievous hurt by a negligent act.

He was banned from driving for two months and ordered to pay the victim S$2,516 in compensation, reported CNA.

What happened

The 31-year-old officer was working at Woodlands Checkpoint Complex on Jun. 7, 2022, where he was ensuring vehicles that left Singapore for Malaysia had at least three-quarters of fuel in the gas tank.

This was part of the officer's duties to enforce the law under the Customs Act, to ensure drivers do not enter Malaysia to top up on fuel and evade fuel duties in Singapore.

Ng was at Woodlands Checkpoint at around 11pm that day when the officer was conducting checks.

Ng stopped his car as instructed, but thought the officer signalled him to move forward.

At that time, the officer had moved closer to the window of Ng's car to check his fuel levels.

When Ng drove forward, the right rear tyre of his car ran over the officer's left foot.

Ng stopped the car after the officer shouted and instructed him to do so.

The officer did not tell Ng of his injury, as the former wanted to avoid a confrontation.

The officer then continued conducting further checks on Ng's car after telling the latter to park his car nearby, as the officer did not feel pain at that time and did not wish to escalate the issue.

Realising the car had less than three-quarters of fuel, the officer brought Ng to the office so the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) officers could handle the case.

The officer then told his ICA colleagues his foot had been run over by Ng's car tyre.

The officer drove to Khoo Teck Puat Hospital two hours later when he began feeling pain in his left foot.

He was given an x-ray of his ankle and foot, which showed a possible separation of a joint, with a medical report stating he sustained a ligament injury of his foot arc.

The officer lodged a police report.

Surgery of his midfoot was carried out on Jun. 10, 2022, three days after the incident.

The officer was hospitalised twice, incurring a total of around S$23,000 in medical fees that were mostly borne by insurance.

He was given a total of about 150 days' hospitalisation leave, CNA reported.

Ng had a clean driving history

The prosecutor acknowledged that Ng had a clean driving history, a guilty plea, and no similar prior incidents.

She sought a fine of between S$4,000 and S$5,000, as well as a six-month driving ban.

An offender who pleads guilty to grievous hurt by a negligent act can be jailed for up to two years, fined up to S$5,000, or both.

Top image via Tokai Teio/Google Maps.