Lorry driver accused of rashly hurting cyclist ‘swerved as he thought he had hit taxi’, court told

SINGAPORE — A lawyer acting for a lorry driver accused of hitting a cyclist who had damaged his side mirror said in court that the driver “swerved instinctively” because he thought he had made contact with a taxi to his right.

The driver, Teo Seng Tiong, 58, has claimed trial over the incident that happened along Pasir Ris Drive 3 on Dec 22, 2018 — an event captured on video taken from a nearby vehicle’s rear camera, which then went viral on social media, sparking a spirited debate over who was at fault.

Teo has been charged with causing hurt to the cyclist Eric Cheung Hoyu, a 35-year-old British national, in a rash act endangering human life, and failing to file a police report within 24 hours of the accident.

On Monday (Sept 23), the court heard evidence from a TransCab driver, Mr Ong Joo Kim, who was driving on the lorry’s right at the time of the incident and was between Teo and Cheung.

Mr Ong told the court: “The (lorry) wanted to cut into my lane, so I braked a little.” He said he also sounded his horn at that time.

During cross-examination, lawyer Chia Boon Teck, acting for Teo, said that his client had told him that he had swerved abruptly because he heard the honk to his right from the taxi at the same time when he heard a “crushing sound” — which led him to think that he had come into contact with the taxi.

The court heard that the “crushing sound” was made when Mr Cheung used his right hand to knock off the left mirror of the lorry.

The viral video, which has been shared close to 30,000 times and has more than 12,000 comments, did not come with any sound.

On Monday, the person who provided the video, Ms Yvonne Lim Yi Wen, also testified that she heard “one short" honking sound, although she could not tell which vehicle made the sound.

Mr Chia said that Teo had “instinctively swerved away from the taxi” which honked at him, because he heard a “crushing sound” and he did not know at the time that it came from Mr Cheung hitting his side mirror.

Ms Lim said her impression was that Teo swerved because he “might be shocked” by the smashing of the mirror. “I am not very sure what happened exactly at that time. I only saw swerving and the cyclist jumping to the ground,” she added.

'NO DAMAGE' TO LORRY

In his questioning of witnesses, Mr Chia said police investigations after the incident established that while dents and cracks were found on Mr Cheung’s bicycle, no damage was found on the lorry.

He added that it was clear to Teo that Mr Cheung had suffered no injuries, which was why Teo started filming the man using his mobile phone after the incident.

Mr Cheung declined treatment by staff members from an ambulance, which was dispatched after his fellow cyclist Nigel William Harper had called 999, he added.

But investigating officer Jeff Tan Jun Yan told the court that a medical practitioner, Dr Tan Seow Hwee, had diagnosed Mr Cheung to be suffering from a strain on the lower back and left shoulder afterwards.

Mr Harper, who also testified on Monday, said that he did not witness any contact between the bicycle and the lorry as he had cycled ahead of Mr Cheung. He heard only a crushing noise, before he looked over his shoulder to see Mr Cheung falling and rolling onto a grass verge on the side of the road.

He immediately put his bicycle down to check on his friend, who appeared to be “okay” although he was “shaken” and looking “very surprised” by what had happened, explaining that he was knocked off his bike.

Teo then talked to them as he was upset about his broken mirror, spoke twice or thrice on the phone, and informed Mr Cheung that the calls were made to the police, Mr Harper said. That prompted him to call the police, too.

Soon after, Teo retrieved his lorry and, to their surprise, drove off, he said. “We understood that we were not to leave the scene (until the police had arrived),” Mr Harper said.

But Mr Chia told the court that Teo had driven off because he thought Mr Cheung was not injured, and he failed to get Cheung’s particulars although he had asked for them.

The lawyer added that Teo had difficulty communicating with both Mr Cheung and Mr Harper, who were both speaking in English.

The court heard that Mr Cheung and Mr Harper had also ridden off in the bicycles before the police arrived. “We wanted to press on and get home,” Mr Harper said, adding that the ambulance personnel did not give them any reason to stay and that he had a family lunch to attend.

“I didn’t see the need to stay back,” he said.

Teo’s trial is scheduled to last until Thursday.

Mr Cheung will be testifying on Tuesday afternoon. For his part in the incident, he was sentenced to a S$2,800 fine in April.

He had faced two charges: One for causing a traffic obstruction by cycling in the middle of a lane, and another for mischief as he had deliberately damaged Teo’s side mirror, which cost S$15 to fix.

If convicted of committing a rash act, Teo could be jailed up to one year, fined S$5,000, or both. He may also be disqualified from driving.

For failing to make a police report in 24 hours, Teo could be jailed up to three months, or fined up to S$1,000.