SINGAPORE – An 11-year-old girl had to have her jaw and gums realigned, after an e-scooter crashed into her on Thursday (April 12) evening along Pasir Ris Drive 1.

The child, who also lost two of her teeth and suffered multiple cuts and abrasions, “cried when she saw her face in the mirror”, said her father Rahmat Nizam Samat, 38, a civil servant.

The police say they have arrested the e-scooter rider, a 24-year-old man. Investigations are ongoing.

Recounting the incident, Mr Rahmat said his wife received a call from an unknown number at around 7.15pm on Thursday, telling her that her daughter had been involved in an accident and was “bleeding from her mouth outside Pasir Ris East Community Club”.

He rushed to the scene, where he was told that his daughter had been hit from the back by an e-scooter. She was later taken to the KK Women's and Children's Hospital, where a doctor had to realign her jaw and gums.

The child also suffered cuts and abrasions to her head, under the right eye, left palm, elbows and knees. She is currently on seven days of medical leave.

“She has not been able to eat anything except a few pieces of watermelons due to her swollen gums,” said Mr Rahmat. 

He added that he will be seeking legal action against the e-scooter rider once the police have concluded their investigations.

Thursday’s incident is the latest in a series of accidents involving pedestrians and users of e-scooters and personal mobility devices.

Last month, three e-scooter drivers were charged in court for injuring pedestrians, among them a 61-year-old woman and two boys aged eight and 11, on three separate occasions in 2017.

Mandatory registration of e-scooters was announced in March this year by the Land Transport Authority (LTA), which had earlier introduced similar requirements for electric bicycles. Tough new penalties have also kicked in for unregistered or non-compliant e-bikes.

The authorities have been taking tougher action against errant users of personal mobility devices like e-scooters and e-bikes in the past year, amid growing complaints about speeding and reckless behaviour by the riders.

In January, Transport Minister Khaw Boon Wan said in Parliament that there were 30 e-scooter accidents involving pedestrians on footpaths and walkways between January and September last year. The Minister also noted that the LTA had issued more than 1,700 advisories for unsafe riding behaviour that year.