He previously pleaded guilty to six charges that included driving in a dangerous manner, riding a motorcycle without a valid licence, possessing and consuming drugs, possessing a scheduled weapon, and disclosing his SingPass credentials for an unlawful purpose.
The total sentence included seven months’ imprisonment specifically for the dangerous driving offence.
The fatal accident happened on the morning of Jun 4, 2024.
The late LTA officer Zdulfika Ahakasah had spotted the teen riding a motorcycle along the Seletar Expressway.
The motorcycle belonged to the teen’s cousin, who had entrusted him with the vehicle for repair. The teen did not have permission to ride it.
Mr Zdulfika noticed that the motorcycle did not have any side mirrors attached and that the teen’s helmet had a tinted visor.
Wanting to stop motorcycle so he could make checks, Mr Zdulfika signalled for the teen to stop along the road shoulder.
At the time, the teen was wanted by the police for absconding in October 2023 before he was about to be sent to a community rehabilitation centre for drug-related issues.
Seeing that Mr Zdulfika was a uniformed officer and knowing that he was wanted, the teen began to accelerate to try to lose the LTA officer and escape arrest.
In the ensuing chase, the teenager cut across two lanes from the road shoulder, and across the chevron marking of the expressway divider.
In his pursuit, Mr Zdulfika crashed into the road divider and was flung off his bike. He was taken to a hospital, where he died.
At a previous hearing, the prosecutor argued that while rehabilitation would focus on reforming the teen, he was a persistent offender who had “chosen to commit serious crimes over and over again”.
The prosecutor also pointed to the teen’s “utter lack of remorse” as he did not stop or call for an ambulance, despite knowing that the LTA officer had crashed and sustained injuries.
The teen had also “taken the opportunity to deflect blame” when he was first charged in court on Jun 6, 2024, the prosecutor said.
Asked if he had anything to say then, the teen had said: “I gambled my life as much as he gambled his. So the death … I may be one of the contributing factors to the death, but I am not to be blamed.”
The prosecutor had sought between two years and three-and-a-half months and two years and five-and-a-half months in jail, six strokes of the cane, and a five-year ban from driving.
The teen’s defence lawyer previously said that his client had reflected during his seven months in remand and was “very, very remorseful”.
He argued that the teen had potential for rehabilitation, with strong support from family members, and asked the court not to impose a sentence that could be “so crushing for someone so young”.
