Son gets jail, driving ban for causing death of his mother in motorcycle crash
TODAY file photo
SINGAPORE — A 25-year-old man was giving his mother a lift on his motorcycle on the eve of her birthday, when he beat the red light and collided into an oncoming car.
His mother succumbed to her injuries and died more than a week later.
On Thursday (Jan 25), the son, Muzakkir Karim Mustaffa Kamal was sentenced by District Judge Kessler Soh to three weeks’ jail, and banned from driving all classes of vehicles for four years.
He admitted to one count of causing his 47-year-old mother’s death through a negligent act.
The court heard that, on Jan 22 last year, Muzakkir and his mother, Suraiya Abu Bakar, were riding along Tampines Avenue 7 towards Tampines Avenue 2.
As he was approaching the junction with Tampines Street 34, he beat the red light, and collided with an oncoming car who was making an authorised U-turn from the opposite direction.
The traffic signal on the opposite side was red with right turning green arrow.
Mdm Suraiya was found in an unconscious state when an ambulance arrived at the scene. Both mother and son were taken to Changi General Hospital. Mdm Suraiya was pronounced brain dead by doctors on Feb 2. Autopsy reports showed she died from head injuries.
Muzakkir, meanwhile, suffered a fractured wrist and lacerations, said Deputy Public Prosecutor Jane Lim, who asked the court to impose a fine of S$8,000 and disqualification period of five years.
The court was told that the roads were dry and visibility was clear at the time of the accident. There were also no mechanical defects on both the car and the motorcycle.
On Thursday, Muzakkir, who is unrepresented, pleaded for the minimum sentence.
He told the court that the incident dealt a “big blow to his family”.
For causing death by doing a negligent act, Muzakkir, who is currently serving sentence for an unrelated molestation case, could have been jailed up to two years, and/or fined.
