Jail for 86-year-old driver in traffic accident that permanently disabled a construction worker

SINGAPORE: An 86-year-old man was sentenced to four months in prison on Wednesday (Feb 12) for careless driving that permanently disabled a construction worker. 

Gay Ee Wah, who was 84 at the time of the accident, will also be disqualified from driving for five years upon his release from prison. 

He pleaded guilty to one charge of careless driving causing grievous hurt to another person, with another similar charge taken into consideration for sentencing.

Gay was at Serangoon Road on Mar 10, 2023, with his wife and daughter in the car when he hit another vehicle upon driving off after a traffic light turned green.

After the collision, Gay’s car sped up and swerved to the right. It mounted a kerb and and hit two construction workers, who were standing on the pavement next to a lamp post and electric box to perform road works.

One worker was flung into the air before he hit the bonnet of a second car. Gay’s car continued to move forward, pinning the worker’s leg underneath. 

The second worker hit a lamp post after being struck by Gay’s car. The vehicle also collided against the lamp post, which then fell on the second car and a third car. 

According to his doctor, the first foreign worker’s injuries are “likely permanent”. In his last medical review months after the accident, he had limited range of motion in his left hip, as well as a loss of strength and pain in his left hip and knee, despite multiple surgeries. 

The foreign worker no longer works in Singapore because of his injuries. His work permit was cancelled about seven months after the accident and he has since returned to India.

Gay has multiple past driving offences, with the most recent in 2019, when he failed to conform to a red light signal.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Zhou Yang asked for seven months to eight months and two weeks of jail for Gay, alongside five years of disqualification from driving. 

Gay’s lawyer, Michael Han of Han & Lu Law Chambers, had asked for the maximum fine or a short detention order for him, instead of a jail term given his advanced age and multiple health conditions. 

A short detention order is a community sentence that requires an offender to be detained in prison for up to 14 days, acting as a deterrent by letting the offender to experience prison life.

In delivering her sentence, District Judge Kok Shu-en noted that she considered the effects the punishment would have on Gay based on the areas put forward by his lawyer. 

“As far as ill health is concerned, the threshold that must be met is a high one,” she said, adding that the defence must demonstrate a risk of significant deterioration of health or significantly more pain based on medical evidence. 

While Gay has several medical conditions, she did not think the threshold for ill health to be taken into consideration for his sentence had been crossed, said Judge Kok. 

In considering a jail term in relation to an individual’s age, the courts look at whether they will suffer disproportionately by spending much of the rest of their life in prison, she added. 

While she agreed to “some moderation” of Gay’s sentence on this basis, his age does not justify the “very drastic reduction” that his lawyer sought. 

His sentence was slightly reduced due to his early guilty plea and advanced age, said Judge Kok. 

Six family members were in court on Wednesday, supporting Gay as he slowly entered the courtroom with a walking stick. His son-in-law served as his bailor. 

For driving a motor vehicle on a road without due care and attention resulting in grievous hurt to another person, the punishment is up to two years in jail, a fine of S$5,000, or both.