Jail for man whose e-scooter handlebar hit LTA officer after he was caught riding on road
Jun 16, 2022, 12:33 PM SGT
SINGAPORE - An elderly man, who was illegally riding his e-scooter on a road, turned and rode against the flow of traffic after Land Transport Authority (LTA) enforcement officers spotted him.
The handlebar of his e-scooter then hit one of the officers in the chest, causing it to be bruised.
On Wednesday (June 15), Wong Chong Weng, now 71, was sentenced to three weeks' jail and given a fine of $1,400.
He had pleaded guilty to one count each of performing a rash act that endangered the safety of others, failing to stop his e-scooter when the officers asked him to do so, and riding the device on a road.
E-scooter users can ride their devices only on cycling paths.
The court heard that Wong was riding his device on the left lane of Sembawang Drive at about 4pm on Oct 29, 2019, when Mr Muhammad Firhan Abdul Kadir, an enforcement officer on duty that day, asked him to stop.
Wong refused to comply, so Mr Firhan alerted several auxiliary police officers stationed nearby about the situation.
When Wong spotted the other officers approaching him, he made a U-turn and rode the e-scooter against the flow of traffic.
Realising that he was riding back towards Mr Firhan, Wong got off his device and tried to carry it onto a nearby pavement.
The e-scooter, however, got stuck on a grass patch between the road and the pavement.
Meanwhile, Mr Firhan shouted at Wong to stop but his orders fell on deaf ears.
Wong carried the e-scooter back onto the road and continued riding the device. Its handlebar then struck Mr Firhan's chest.
Another LTA officer alerted the police, the court heard.
An ambulance took Mr Firhan to Khoo Teck Puat Hospital, where he was found with a bruised chest. He was later given three days of medical leave.
For committing a rash act that endangered the safety of others, an offender can be jailed for up to six months and fined up to $2,500.
And for riding an e-scooter on a road, a first-time offender can be jailed for up to three months and fined up to $2,000. A repeat offender can be jailed for up to six months and fined up to $5,000.
