Indian national jailed for fatal accident in Singapore

A 25-year-old Indian national named Udaiyappan Vasanth failed to give way to a cyclist crossing a road at a zebra crossing.

Singapore: A 25-year-old Indian national was sentenced to a year’s jail after he admitted to one count each of causing death by driving without reasonable consideration for other road users and intending to pervert the course of justice.

Udaiyappan Vasanth was also disqualified from holding or obtaining all driving license classes for eight years from his release date. While driving a lorry in Singapore, he failed to give way to a cyclist crossing a road at a zebra crossing, causing an accident. The cyclist, Abdul Aziz Syed Mohamed, 64, died in hospital on April 16, 2022.

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Instead of coming clean, Udaiyappan managed to convince his colleague, Rajendhiran Chelladurai, to take the fall for the offense, reported The Straits Times. Udaiyappan had a driving license but was then under a one-year probation period. The 28-year-old Rajendhiran, also an Indian national, was earlier sentenced to three months in jail in April. Shortly before the accident, he drove along Jalan Eunos around 5 pm on April 16, 2022, when he approached a slip road to the Pan-Island Expressway towards Tuas. Rajendhiran was sitting in the front passenger seat at the time.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Ng Jun Kai said that although the lorry had been installed with an in-vehicle camera, it did not capture the accident as its memory card was corrupted. He also told the court that at the time of the accident, the traffic volume was moderate, the road surface was dry, the weather was fine and visibility was good.

Another motorist alerted the police and an ambulance rushed Abdul Aziz to Changi General Hospital, where he was found with injuries including a fractured skull. He was pronounced dead shortly before 7 pm that day.

Two days later, Rajendhiran and Udaiyappan found out from their employer that Abdul Aziz did not survive the accident. Rajendhiran told Udaiyappan that he no longer wanted to take the rap for the offense and the two men agreed to tell the truth to the police. Udaiyappan came clean about what he had done on April 19, 2022.

For causing death by driving without reasonable consideration for other road users, an offender can be jailed for up to three years and fined up to SGD 10,000. And for perverting the course of justice, an offender can be jailed for up to seven years and fined.