SINGAPORE — Beatty Secondary School vice-principal Lim Soon Wai had sent his mother to church and was planning a quick lunch with his two daughters when he accidentally crashed his car into a flower stall at a market in Marine Terrace.
The accident in December last year injured the boss of the stall, her assistant and a domestic helper.
On Wednesday (Dec 26), Lim, 52, was jailed 10 days and disqualified from driving for two-and-a-half years after pleading guilty to causing grievous hurt through a negligent act.
Lim, who is out on a S$5,000 bail, will begin serving his sentence after school reopens on Jan 15. His lawyer Michael Han had appealed to the court that the father-of-three needed more time to sort out his “busy work schedule” and would like to spend more time with his family.
The court heard that on the afternoon of Dec 9 last year, Lim was trying to park his car — a white Toyota sedan — at the open-air car park of Block 50A, Marine Terrace, when he failed to maintain control over it.
He was reversing the car into an empty parking lot when it bumped into a kerb. As he moved forward, he accelerated, went over another kerb and the car crashed head-on into a flower shop.
The impact flung a stall assistant, 66-year-old Toh Cheng Hai, to the side of the shop, while stall owner Yeo Lee Eng, 58, and her customer — Sri Atun Lestari, 33, an Indonesian domestic helper — both fainted from shock.
Two of Lim’s daughters, who were studying at the Nanyang Technological University, were passengers in the car when the accident happened.
Mr Toh’s left foot was crushed in the accident and his middle toe had to be amputated. His doctor said that he may develop pain in his permanently deformed foot from prolonged standing or walking. He was hospitalised for 20 days, and given more than two months of hospitalisation leave afterwards.
Madam Yeo suffered a fractured right ankle and tore a tendon in her right shoulder, and spent 10 days in hospital. Ms Lestari had a superficial abrasion on one of her fingers.
Mr Han asked the court to consider a jail term of no more than a week for his client, as he noted that Lim’s negligence “was completely out of his character”, adding that at Lighthouse Evangelism church, Lim is a Christian cell group leader who administers to the sick and those with physical needs.
However, Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) Angela Ang sought a two-week jail term and a three-year driving ban for Lim, noting the “seriousness and permanence” of the injuries caused, especially to Mr Toh.
DPP Ang added that the crash site is a “highly public area” and was crowded on the day of the accident, adding that a couple had just walked past the incident area before it happened.
She also pointed out that a mechanical inspection conducted on Lim’s vehicle after the accident did not show any evidence to suggest any mechanical fault or abnormality.
In sentencing Lim to 10 days’ jail, District Judge Regina Lim said she considered that an accident which took place in a car park should be “less aggravating” than one on the road, but noted that Lim exhibited poor control of his vehicle within a residential and school zone.
Lim could have been jailed up to two years, and/or fined as much as S$5,000 for committing the negligent act.
In a reply to queries by TODAY, the Ministry of Education (MOE) said that it takes a serious view of misconduct by its staff members and will not hesitate to take disciplinary action against those who fail to adhere to its standards of conduct and discipline.
"As Mr Lim is still an MOE staff, we will be proceeding with our internal disciplinary processes and taking appropriate action," a spokesperson from the ministry said.
https://www.todayonline.com/singapo...y-vice-principal-who-crashed-car-market-stall
