Speeding driver in fatal hit-and-run accident at Church Street gets jail

SINGAPORE: After hitting a pedestrian while speeding, a man drove off and did not help the victim, who was left lying on the road and later died in hospital.

The driver, 37-year-old Koh Chew Wa, instead fled to a nearby building where he arranged for his car to be towed away for repairs.

On Wednesday (Dec 18), Koh was sentenced to one year in jail and banned from driving for eight years after his release.

He pleaded guilty to one count each of careless driving, failing to give assistance after being involved in a road accident, and perverting the course of justice.

Two charges of failing to stop and moving his car from the scene of the accident were considered in sentencing.

The victim was Mr Davin Ng Min You, a 26-year-old pharmacist. He suffered skull and leg fractures and multiple episodes of cardiac arrest after the accident in the Raffles Place area.

Mr Ng underwent emergency surgery but died of brain injuries hours after the accident.

THE ACCIDENT

The court heard that at about midnight on Oct 29, 2022, Koh and a friend were headed from Sim Lim Tower to a pub near Oxley Tower in his Mercedes-Benz.

Koh was driving in the second lane of Church Street, which is a five-lane road. He was near the junction of Telok Ayer Street, going in the direction of Cecil Street, and the traffic light was in his favour.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Matthew Choo said Koh failed to slow down as he neared a signalised traffic junction, and failed to keep a proper lookout ahead.

This resulted in the accident. Mr Ng was crossing Church Street in the middle of the second lane at that point. 

A Health Sciences Authority (HSA) analysis found that Koh was driving at between 70kmh and 97kmh at the time of the accident.

The speed limit on Church Street is 50kmh.

Footage of the accident, captured by a camera in another vehicle, was played in court. It showed Mr Ng being flung up by the impact of the collision before landing in the first lane and rolling towards the kerb.

Mr Ng was taken to the hospital at 1.12am. He was pronounced dead at 3.30am.

An HSA pathologist found that Mr Ng had consumed alcohol before his death. However, his blood alcohol concentration was low.

AFTER THE ACCIDENT

Koh's friend, who was seated in the front passenger seat, had not witnessed the collision but heard a loud impact and saw that the windshield was cracked. 

The passenger asked Koh what happened and asked him to stop the car, but Koh did not respond and continued driving for about five minutes to the URA Centre.

After parking his car there, they took a private-hire car to his friend's house.

Later that day, sometime before noon, Koh called the general manager of a car workshop and said he would arrange for his car to be towed there for repairs.

Koh did this to conceal his involvement in the accident, the prosecutor said.

A worker at the workshop later told Koh that he must make a police report if he was in an accident.

Koh acknowledged this but asked for the repairs to start as he needed his car for work.

The general manager then gave Koh his assessment of the damage and asked Koh if he had made an accident report with his insurer. Koh lied that he had.

The police towed Koh's car away from the workshop at 5pm that day, before any repair work had been done. Apart from the cracked windshield, the car's bonnet and front bumper were also dented.

Koh was arrested that day, and his driving licence was suspended two days later.

SPEEDING AND "COWARDLY ACT" OF FLEEING

Mr Choo sought 12 to 16 months' imprisonment for Koh, as well as a driving ban of eight years from the date of his release.

The prosecutor highlighted that Koh was driving well above the speed limit, and the force of the impact could be inferred from how the victim was "tossed like a ragdoll in the air".

Koh was previously convicted of speeding in September 2022, for which he was fined S$500 and given 12 demerit points.

It was this same behaviour of speeding that led to the fatal accident, the prosecutor argued.

Mr Choo also argued that the extent of Koh's carelessness was significant, as the traffic junction where he failed to slow down was a major one, and the victim was clearly visible.

Calling Koh's failure to stop and give assistance a "cowardly act", the prosecutor said this was egregious as Koh had seen the victim before the collision and was asked by his passenger to stop.

"Instead, (Koh) chose to not face up to the consequences of his actions and fled, leaving (Mr Ng) to fight for his life along the road," he said.

Koh's offence of perverting the course of justice was premeditated, the prosecutor added, as he called the car workshop ahead of time and arranged for the car to be towed.

The prosecutor pointed out that Koh persisted in offending even after being reminded to report the accident.

During mitigation, defence lawyer Christopher Bridges stressed that Mr Ng was jaywalking, and Koh had the right of way when the accident occurred.

But Mr Choo said that the prosecution had already taken this into consideration in its suggested sentence.

After sentencing, Senior District Judge Ong Hian Sun granted Koh's application to defer the start of his jail term until Jan 31, 2025, noting that his passport has been seized.

Koh remains out on bail of S$15,000.

The offence of careless driving causing death carries a penalty of up to three years in jail, a fine of up to S$10,000 or both.

A driver who fails to render assistance after being involved in an accident causing death, injury or damage can be jailed for up to a year, fined up to S$3,000 or both.

The punishment for perverting the course of justice is a jail term of up to seven years, a fine or both.