Indian national jailed and banned from driving for causing fatal accident

A 36-year-old Indian national was on Thursday sentenced to 12 weeks of jail and banned from driving for five years for causing an accident that killed two electric bike riders and injured another in 2016, according to a media report.

The accident happened along the West Coast Highway when Sahadevan Senguttuvan, a trailer driver collided into three electric bike riders, killing two of them and injuring the third. He had pleaded guilty in the court, Channel News Asia reported.

Sahadevan had worked for more than 12 hours, since 7.20 am, and he was driving his motor trailer towards Telok Bengale suburb estate when the tragedy struck on October 27, 2016, the report said quoting an investigations into the case.

The three victims - 25-year-old Ang Yee Fong, 18-year-old Ong Zi Quan and 17-year-old Marcus Loke Teck Soon were on their e-bikes in single file on the leftmost lane in front of the trailer.

Sahadevan stopped his trailer and alighted, before calling for the ambulance and waiting for it to arrive, the report said, adding that Ang was pronounced dead at the scene and Zi Quan died soon after in hospital, while Marcus suffered abrasions, bruises and a fracture on his finger.

In the Court, the prosecution asked for 12 weeks' jail, while the defence asked for eight weeks instead.

Sahadevan had said at a coroner's inquiry last year that he panicked when he saw the e-bike riders, and made no attempt to brake before the collision.

"I tried my best. I didn't want to hit them," he said during the coroner's inquiry.