Fatal Clementi car crash: Former taxi driver 65% liable for damages in negligence suit filed by survivor

• Mr Ting Jun Heng, who survived a crash, sued taxi driver Yap Kok Hua and another driver Ng Li Ning
• A High Court judge found that both drivers were negligent and liable for damages
• Mr Ting was also not contributorily negligent for failing to wear a seatbelt

SINGAPORE — A High Court judge on Friday (Oct 2) found that two drivers have to pay damages for a National University of Singapore (NUS) student’s serious injuries, which arose from an accident that killed his schoolmate.

Mr Ting Jun Heng, 24, sued 57-year-old former taxi driver Yap Kok Hua and motorist Ng Li Ning, 23, for an unspecified amount.

Following a civil trial that began in June, Justice Aedit Abdullah ruled that Yap should pay 65 per cent of damages, with Ng liable for the other 35 per cent.

The judge also found that Mr Ting was not contributorily negligent for failing to wear a seatbelt.

The trial focused strictly on liability, with the amount of damages to be determined at a later date.

Mr Ting suffered severe brain injuries and was vegetative for some time after being flung out of Yap’s taxi on April 19 in 2018.

He was hospitalised for 54 days and managed to get better, but had to postpone his studies for a year and still needed help walking and showering about eight months after the accident.

He was in the taxi with three fellow NUS students, with one — environmental studies undergraduate Kathy Ong Kai Ting — dying from the accident. She was 19 at the time and an only child.

They had been heading to Tembusu College, a residential hostel on campus, that evening.

Yap was jailed eight weeks and banned from driving for five years in August last year. He had pleaded guilty to committing a negligent act that caused Ong’s death and causing grievous hurt to Mr Ting and the other two passengers.

Mr Lim Jin Jie suffered a fracture among other injuries, while Mr Zon Lim was kept in a neck brace and hospitalised for eight days.

Ng was charged with reckless or dangerous driving. His case is pending.

JUDGE’S DECISION

In his oral remarks on Friday, Justice Aedit said that Yap bore greater responsibility because he had failed to keep a proper lookout or exercise prudent judgement.

When the traffic light turned green at the junction of Commonwealth Avenue West and Clementi Road, Yap moved forward into the right-turn pocket, stopping to check for vehicles coming from the opposite direction.

He saw Ng speeding towards him, but decided to follow the car in front of him and make a discretionary right turn into Ng’s path.

The two vehicles collided, while the taxi also hit another stationary car at the junction. The car that Yap followed was not hit.

In deciding how liable Ng was for the accident, Justice Aedit considered how fast he had been driving.

A previous analysis by the Health Sciences Authority had found that he was driving at between 92km/h and 97km/h.

However, the judge accepted evidence from an expert, whom Ng had called to testify, that Ng was driving at 74km/h to 87km/h with an average speed of 82km/h.

Ng was still speeding because the limit there was 70 km/h.

Justice Aedit found that Ng had also failed to keep a proper lookout and drive with proper care.

He should have slowed down or sounded his horn, and made sure no other vehicles were turning right, the judge said.

Having the right of way did not absolve him of the need to exercise due care, and drivers should take note of other road users and slow down if necessary, Justice Aedit said.

“Where the drivers of the turning vehicles are over-optimistic, the driver going straight should exercise caution, slow down to allow for appropriate reactions, and sound the horn as appropriate. He should make sure that it is safe to continue straight before proceeding,” he added.

As for whether Mr Ting was also negligent in not wearing a seatbelt, the judge said there was no evidence to find that his injuries could only have been caused by that.

Even so, Yap was not sure if Mr Ting had buckled up, and Mr Ting was not convicted of failing to do so.

Justice Aedit will issue full grounds of decision if the need arises.