A 41-year-old Singaporean drunk driver was charged and sentenced in court following a terrible hit-and-run on the road.
Late at night on 3 June 2022, Mohamed Akhtar Yusoff Marican drank four glasses of Chivas whiskey mixed with water at Golden Mile Shopping Centre, reported Shin Min Daily News.
He then got into a rented Audi and drove home, which is typically not what you should do when inebriated.
Drink Driver Crashes Into 3 Cyclists on Nicoll Highway
By 1:50 am on 4 June 2022, Akhtar was driving along the middle lane of Nicoll Highway. Concurrently, five cyclists rode on the leftmost lane on the highway.
They had the appropriate safety gear and rear lights on their bikes.
At around 2:05 am, Akhtar suddenly switched to the leftmost lane, crashing into a 48-year-old cyclist in this group of five.
The cyclist was flung into the air over the Audi and landed facefirst on the road. Photos of the accident scene showed that he had left a sickening puddle of blood on the asphalt from his injuries.
Still moving forward, Akhtar’s car crashed into two bicycles ridden by a husband and wife couple, both 47.
The impact knocked the man forward and flung his wife off into a barricade.
Akhtar then continued onwards, escalating the accident into a hit-and-run.
One of the other two cyclists unharmed called out for help, with another group of cyclists and two cars responding and calling the police. All three victims were rushed to the hospital.
The cyclist who had landed facefirst suffered severe injuries, with fractures in many parts of his body including his left hand, ankle, face, and ribs, having to undergo surgery for them.
He also suffered a brain bleed, a common symptom of which is pressure on the brain. As such, the hospital staff had to perform an emergency procedure to insert an intracranial pressure monitor.
The cyclist was hospitalised from 4 June to 21 June and got 52 days of hospitalisation leave.
The injured couple got off relatively luckier, with the husband having pain in the right ankle and the wife suffering a bruised knee. Both were discharged on the same day.
However, the woman had another appointment for a persistent headache and positional vertigo from a history of head trauma. She received 13 days of medical leave.
Cycling Group Appeals Online for Witnesses
On 17 June 2022, the cyclist group they belonged to made a post to the SG Road Vigilante Facebook page.
They stated that a car knocked down three of their cyclists, whom they claimed cycled in a straight line on the extreme left, and sped off without braking down Nicoll Highway.
They also added that one of the victims was badly injured and in the ICU, referring to the heavily wounded cyclist.
The cycling group appealed for witnesses to the accident, especially video footage.
As for Akhtar, he didn’t get very far, pulling over on the roadside at Sims Avenue after noticing the windshield on his car had shattered. Since windshields typically don’t randomly explode, he had realised something was amiss.
A Traffic Police officer found Akhtar and gave him a breathalyser test after he admitted to drinking, which he failed.
He got arrested, and a second test at the Traffic Police HQ found he had 89mg of alcohol per 100ml of breath, over double the limit of 35mg.
Driver Claims He Was Too Drunk to Remember Accident
Akhtar stated that he was so drunk that he didn’t remember running three cyclists over. It’s not a great sign if that’s your defence in court.
The driver pleaded guilty to drink driving, driving without due care, and failure to help after an accident.
The prosecution highlighted the danger of Akhtar being too drunk to remember the accident, as there were several cyclists on Nicoll Highway at the time.
He also pointed to the injuries of the cyclists and the damage to their bikes. The three bicycles had cost a total of S$4,606 to repair after the collision.
Akhtar’s rented Audi also had a shattered windshield, a broken front grille, a misaligned and dented front bumper, and a broken left mirror.
The prosecution further said that there was “no good reason” for Akhtar to drive home after drinking, especially with such a high alcohol content in his breathalyser test.
As such, he sought a jail term between nine months and a week and 15 months and two weeks.
He also requested a fine of S$5,000 to S$6,000 and a seven or eight-year driving ban.
In mitigation, Akhtar’s lawyer claimed that the defendant would carry the guilt for the rest of his life and that he wished to apologise to the three victims.
On 16 August 2024, the judge sentenced him to eight months and four weeks in jail. He also received a S$5,000 fine and a driving ban lasting seven years.
A previous hit-and-run occurred on 20 July at the hands (or wheels) of an orange Range Rover, which had been previously seen driving recklessly thrice.
Here’s a simplified summary of the South Korea martial law that even a 5-year-old would understand:
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