A traffic police officer has been jailed seven months for causing the death of a pedestrian, aged 58, while riding at a speed of 108kmh.
Muhammad Firdaus Yusoff, 32, pleaded guilty to one charge of riding a motorcycle without reasonable consideration for other road users.
According to court documents, he had exceeded the speed limit by more than 50kmh while on the way to an accident.
Apart from his prison sentence, he has also been banned from obtaining any driving licence for eight years.
The Singapore Police Force (SPF) also said Firdaus has been suspended from frontline duties and that it has since initiated investigations against him, CNA reported.
What happened on the day of the incident?
Alerted to an incident, aware he was supposed to ride within the speed limit
On Jun. 21, 2023, Firdaus was on his way back to the Traffic Police Headquarters at 5:29pm when he was despatched to attend to an incident with a text message that said ,"one motorcycle self-skidded. Need ambulance".
Firdaus knew that the SCDF had already been activated but was not aware of the extent of the injuries or the casualties.
The incident was also not classified as an emergency.
As he was the first officer despatched to the incident, his role was to establish the nature of the accident and whether any further police resources were required.
He was also required to control traffic and to render first aid if he had arrived at the scene before the SCDF.
Firdaus also knew that he was not supposed to travel above the speed limit when responding to such incidents.
How the collision occurred
While on the way to the site of the incident, Firdaus was riding on the first lane of a three-lane road at Hougang Avenue 3, towards Hougang Avenue 2, near the intersection of Kim Chuan Road.
At about the same time, the pedestrian was crossing the road from Firdaus’ left to right perspective.
Firdaus observed that he was walking normally and had not noticed the blinker lights and siren from the motorcycle.
He then applied hard braking and sounded his horn at the man. He also tried to swerve to the right to avoid colliding into the pedestrian.
However, he was not able to do so. The collision flung the pedestrian onto the grass verge of the centre divider.
The pedestrian was then conveyed to Tan Tock Seng Hospital in an unconscious state and was eventually pronounced dead from multiple injuries sustained in the collision.
Pedestrian had not been jaywalking
Investigations revealed that Firdaus had been riding his motorcycle at 108kmh just before the collision.
He was also aware that the speed limit along Hougang Avenue 3 was 50kmh.
The accident reconstruction report also highlighted that had Firdaus been riding at 50kmh, he would have been able to avoid a collision with the pedestrian.
Court documents also noted that the location at which the pedestrian had crossed the road was not within 50m of a overhead bridge further up the road.
The pedestrian was therefore not jaywalking.
However, any pedestrian who is not crossing at a pedestrian crossing is still required to yield the right of way to oncoming vehicles.
Prosecution: Accused should have known better
In their sentencing submissions, the prosecution said the accused should have known better as a police officer than to exceed the speed limit by more than 50kmh.
This was "dangerous riding", they added.
They noted that there were some factors which mitigated his culpability, such as how there was some urgency to the incident as Firdaus was the first police officer despatched and would have been required to render first aid if he had arrived before the SCDF.
In addition, he had also switched on the siren and blinkers of his motorcycle to warn others of his presence.
For causing death by riding without due consideration, Firdaus could have been jailed for up to three years', fined up to S$10,000, or been subjected to both.
Top photos via Lianhe Zaobao