SINGAPORE: A forklift driver who failed to check his blind spot hit a man, causing the man’s leg to get caught in the forklift’s wheel.
As a result of an injury sustained in the incident, the victim, 66, had to have the portion of his left leg under his knee amputated.
The forklift driver, Lucious Richard Pereira, was sentenced to 20 days’ jail on Tuesday (Dec 17) after he pleaded guilty to one count of causing grievous hurt through a negligent act.
The 49-year-old Singaporean was employed as a warehouse assistant at a warehouse on Lok Yang Way when the incident occurred.
He had a valid forklift licence and had been operating forklifts for about 20 years.
The victim was then a lorry driver at a hardware and engineering firm.
On Feb 20 this year, Pereira was operating a forklift to move items into the warehouse from a yard outside.
As he was doing so, he stopped his forklift briefly to allow a co-worker to pass in front of him while he was turning into the warehouse.
The victim was standing to the left of the forklift at this point.
Pereira then executed a right turn. He was aware that he was supposed to check the left side of the forklift before turning as the rear wheels of the vehicle would turn left, but he failed to check the blind spot on his left.
As Pereira turned right, the rear of the forklift hit the victim’s left leg, which became caught in the wheel.
The victim shouted in pain before Pereira moved his forklift forward.
Pereira and his co-workers then assisted the victim.
According to a medical report, the victim suffered an open fracture, which means that the bone likely pierced through the skin.
According to Pereira’s charge sheet, the victim suffered a left ankle deformity and exposed tendons, which resulted in the amputation of his left leg below the knee.
The accused was arrested on Feb 20 but released a day later.
Pereira’s lawyers, Mr Justin Ng and Ms Desiree Ang from Kalco Law sought no more than 10 days’ jail for their client.
They said that while their client’s case involved “greater harm” in the form of a very serious injury, there was “lower culpability” as Pereira had been exercising reasonable care in operating the forklift before the accident.
When Pereira saw a co-worker pass in front of him, he braked forcefully.
“In fact, this co-worker had thoughtlessly walked across the path of the forklift within the forklift operation zone, all while looking down at his handphone and texting,” the lawyers said.
As the accused was focused on the co-worker in front of him, he checked his side view mirrors to ensure that there was nobody beside him, but neglected to check his left blind spot before executing the right turn, said the lawyers. As a result, he failed to see the victim, who was walking in very close proximity to the forklift’s rear left tyre, they added.
The lawyers said that their client was genuinely remorseful and regretted that his momentary lapse of attention resulted in such a serious injury.
For causing a grievous injury through a negligent act, Pereira could have been jailed for up to two years, or fined up to S$5,000 (US$3,700), or both.
