Updated: 09/30/2013 21:21 | By Channel NewsAsia
Man jailed, banned from driving after accident that killed jogger
SINGAPORE: A 23-year-old man was on Monday sentenced to five months' jail by a district court and banned from driving all classes of vehicles for nine years, after the car he was driving ploughed into a jogger and killed him.
Seet Zhi Yang, a full-time national serviceman, pleaded guilty to causing the death of 30-year-old Gurkha officer Gir Prasad Roka in June last year.
The court heard that Seet had been speeding along Upper Serangoon Road around 7.15pm on the day of the accident, and had been trying to overtake a motorcycle in front of him.
He was driving at 104 km per hour, far exceeding the speed limit of 70 km per hour.
While filtering to the left to overtake the motorcycle, Seet lost control of the car.
The vehicle veered off the road, mounted the kerb and ploughed into the Gurkha who was jogging along the footway.
The Gurkha was flung onto the bonnet and windscreen of the car, hurled into the air before he hit a tree and fell to the ground. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
Seet's car also hit two metal railings, continued over an open drain, and eventually stopped at the foot of an overhead bridge.
It was established that Seet had consumed alcohol before the accident, although his blood alcohol level was below the prescribed legal limit.
For driving in a reckless manner that was dangerous to other road users, Seet could have been jailed up to five years. - CNA/nd
