Man who rode e-scooter on road, crashed into car, chooses jail time over fine

SINGAPORE — Engrossed in checking the route on his mobile phone, a 27-year-old man riding his electronic scooter on the road one night did not notice that the car he was speeding towards had stopped.

Seow Wei Ming ended up crashing into the back of the car and hitting his head on its rear windscreen.

On Wednesday (July 10), he was handed a fine of S$2,000, but chose to serve eight days in jail instead as he could not pay it. He pleaded guilty to endangering the personal safety of others and riding his personal mobility device on the road.

Another charge of not having lights on his e-scooter was taken into consideration for sentencing.

The court heard that the incident happened on July 30 last year, at about 10.30pm.

Seow was riding his e-scooter on the left lane of the main road along Sembawang Crescent, in the direction of Sembawang Way. Mr Zhi Qiuyu, then aged 54, was driving behind Seow at first before he overtook the rider.

About 15 seconds later, Mr Zhi stopped his car at the roadside to pick up his wife.

Seow was looking down at the GPS on his mobile phone, as he planned to make a right turn. He did not notice Mr Zhi’s car and ran smack into it, just as the other man’s wife opened the car door and was about to enter.

Video footage of the incident, taken from the vehicle’s rear in-car camera, was played in court. At the time, the roads were relatively clear and visibility was good.

Seow called the police for help and was taken to Khoo Teck Puat Hospital in an ambulance. He sustained a cut on his scalp, loose teeth and small cuts on his foot, and was given three days of medical leave.

Mr Zhi had to pay S$100 to repair his cracked windscreen.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Angela Ang noted that Seow had “ample time” to slow down and stop, and the lack of lights on his e-scooter “inherently increased the danger”.

“It was fortuitous that he only collided into a car and not a person, though it was unfortunate that he suffered injuries,” she added.

Seow gave his own mitigation plea in court, promising he would not do it again and pointing out that Mr Zhi had parked illegally along a double yellow line.

For endangering the personal safety of others through a negligent act, he could have been jailed up to three months, fined up to S$1,500, or both.

For riding his e-scooter on the road, he could have been jailed for up to three months, fined up to S$2,000, or both.