Jail for hospital worker who did not fix faulty bicycle brakes, resulting in fatal crash with retiree
by Loraine Lee · CNA · JoinSINGAPORE: Although she knew her bicycle's brakes were broken, a 52-year-old hospital housekeeper continued cycling to and from work for nearly three months without repairing them.
However, while on the way home from work one night, she could not use her brakes to avoid hitting a pedestrian - a 63-year-old retiree.
The crash left the victim with a traumatic brain injury, and she died in hospital 12 days later.
On Friday (Sep 20), Li Lanying, a Chinese national, was sentenced to four weeks' jail after pleading guilty to causing death by negligent act.
Her sentence was backdated to Aug 27, the date when she was arrested and put in remand.
WHAT HAPPENED
Deputy Public Prosecutor Tan Jing Min told the court at about 9pm on Mar 8, 2023, Li was cycling home from work at Tan Tock Seng Hospital.
The road has a slight downhill from Mandalay Road before going uphill. The prosecutor added it has a speed limit of 50kmh.
At the same time, Lee Lai Kuen, 63, a retiree, and her husband were on their daily night walk along Martaban Road towards a nearby car park.
Li was riding at a fast speed. As she turned right onto Martaban Road towards Balestier Road, she neared Lee who was crossing the road.
Li tried to use the bicycle's brakes but she could not slow down as they were defective.
Court documents did not state the exact speed Li was travelling.
"The accused and the victim tried to redirect their cycling and walking paths to avoid each other, but the accused’s right handlebar collided onto the victim’s right arm," said Ms Tan.
The impact caused Lee to fall backwards, and her head hit the ground. Li also fell off her bicycle.
Ms Tan said that at the time of the incident, traffic flow was "clear", the road surface was dry, the weather was fine and visibility was clear.
As a result of the collision, Lee sustained a traumatic brain injury and was taken to Tan Tock Seng Hospital via ambulance.
She died on Mar 20, 2023 at 5.36am due to a head injury.
"The accused knew that her brakes were faulty for two to three months prior to the accident," said Ms Tan.
"However, she did not repair it as there was usually no pedestrians on the road when she used the bicycle to commute to and from work."
The prosecutor sought a sentence of four to eight weeks' jail, noting that Li had a "high level of negligence" as she was aware of the defect but chose not to repair it.
"Furthermore, she was travelling at a fast speed on a downslope at the time of the accident," said the prosecutor.
Ms Lim Lei Theng from Allen & Gledhill pleaded for leniency on Li's behalf and told the court Li was trying to avoid Lee on that fateful night.
"They were both trying to avoid each other ... It is an accident," said the lawyer.
District Judge Chee Min Ping noted that both the defence and prosecution did not dispute that Li was going at a fast speed during the incident, and that this was an "aggravating factor".
The judge also added that she took into account Li's remorse and early plea of guilt during sentencing.
Anyone found guilty of causing death by doing a negligent act can be jailed for up to two years, fined or both.
The article was originally published in TODAY.
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