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SINGAPORE: An associate professor at Nanyang Technological University (NTU) drove without a proper lookout and made a discretionary right turn on a motorcyclist, who sustained multiple fractures.
On one count of negligent act causing serious injury, Lau Kim Teen, 61, was jailed for five days and banned from driving for two years on Thursday (September 24).
The court heard that Lau, a permanent resident of Malaysia and Singapore, had driven to a restaurant near Pioneer Road for dinner on December 30, 2018.
He drank beer during his meal and left around 8.45pm, driving down 93 Jurong West Street. At the T-junction between 93 and 92 Jurong West Street, he intended to turn right.
The victim, a 24-year-old motorcyclist, was approaching the T-junction from the opposite direction, and kept going straight after seeing that the traffic light was green in his favor.
Lau did not maintain proper vigilance and instead turned right at his discretion, without yielding to the victim’s motorcycle, which had the right of way.
The victim tried to deflect his motorcycle defensively, but fell in the collision and briefly passed out. A passerby called the police and Lau waited for the police and the ambulance to arrive.
A police officer noticed that Lau smelled of alcohol and took a breathalyzer test. The result showed a “warning”, and Lau was arrested and taken back to the police station for another test that found 15 micrograms of alcohol in 100 ml of his breath. This was below the legal limit of 35 micrograms per 100 ml.
The victim was taken to hospital with hand and leg fractures and underwent surgery. She continues to suffer immobility in her wrist and thumb due to the incident, and she is still undergoing physiotherapy treatment awaiting surgery to remove implants in her right hand and leg.
Lau is listed on the NTU website as an Associate Professor at the Center for Continuing Professional Education, teaching courses in electronics and integrated circuit design at the School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering.
NTU told CNA in a statement that Lau is being subjected to disciplinary proceedings, adding that the university “expects all members of its community to maintain the highest ethical standards and obey the law at all times.”
For causing serious harm by negligent act, Lau could have been jailed for up to two years, fined up to S $ 5,000, or both. You could also have been banned from driving for life.
