SINGAPORE: A man was fined S$4,000 (US$2,995) on Thursday (Aug 1) for driving over the foot of an auxiliary police officer who was checking that vehicles leaving Woodlands Checkpoint had at least three-quarters of fuel in their tanks.
Ng Hock Keong, a 68-year-old Singaporean, pleaded guilty to one count of causing grievous hurt by a negligent act.
He was banned from driving for two months and ordered to pay the victim S$2,516 in compensation.
The court heard that the victim, a 31-year-old Singaporean, was working at Woodlands Checkpoint Complex on Jun 7, 2022.
His duties included ensuring that vehicles leaving Singapore for Malaysia had at least three-quarters of fuel in the gas tank.
This is required by law under the Customs Act, to prevent drivers from entering Malaysia to top up on fuel and evade fuel duties in Singapore.
If the officer spotted a vehicle with less than three-quarters of fuel, he was to instruct the driver to park by the side before escorting the driver to a nearby office.
Around 11pm that day, Ng was driving at Woodlands Checkpoint while the officer was conducting fuel checks.
Ng stopped his car as instructed. However, as the victim moved closer to the window of Ng’s car to check the fuel level, Ng drove forward.
He did so as he thought he saw the victim signal to ask him to move forward. The right rear tyre of his car ran over the victim’s left foot.
The victim shouted at Ng and told him to stop his car, and he complied.
The victim then told Ng to park his car nearby. The victim did not feel pain at this juncture and did not want to escalate the issue.
After conducting further checks, the victim realised that the car had less than three-quarters of fuel.
He escorted Ng to the office so that Immigration and Checkpoints Authority officers (ICA) could handle the case.
He did not tell Ng that his car had run over his foot, as he wanted to avoid a confrontation. Instead, he told his ICA colleagues that his foot had been run over by Ng’s car tyre.
Two hours later, the victim felt pain in his left foot. He drove to Khoo Teck Puat Hospital and an x-ray of his ankle and foot showed a possible separation of a joint.
He was given 14 days’ hospitalisation leave and he lodged a police report.
He was later hospitalised again and given a total of about 150 days’ hospitalisation leave.
A medical report stated he had sustained a ligament injury of his foot arc, as a result of a crushing or twisting injury to his foot. Surgery of the midfoot was carried out on Jun 10, 2022.
The victim incurred a total of about S$23,000 in medical fees, with the bulk of it borne by insurance.
The prosecutor sought a fine of between S$4,000 and S$5,000 for Ng, and a driving ban of six months.
She noted Ng’s clean driving history, guilty plea and the fact that the incident was a “one-off aberration”.
For grievous hurt by a negligent act, he could have been jailed for up to two years, fined up to S$5,000, or both.
