SINGAPORE — A man on trial for allegedly driving a Maserati in a hit-and-run incident that dragged a uniformed traffic police officer more than 100m will mount a ''bare denial'' defence, a court heard on Thursday (Oct 3).

Lee Cheng Yan, 35, is disputing the prosecution’s allegation that he was the driver of the Italian luxury car involved in the incident on the evening of Nov 17, 2017, on Bedok Reservoir Road, the court heard at the opening of Lee’s trial.

The prosecution, which is proceeding on 10 of the 69 charges which Lee faces following the hit-and-run, said it will prove in the course of the trial that the defence is “completely without merit”.

“It is contrary to the totality of the evidence which the prosecution will adduce at trial, including objective video footages of the incident, independent eyewitness accounts and the testimony of the accused's friends to whom he spoke to on the day of the incident and admitted to his involvement in the offences,” said Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) Timotheus Koh.

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Presenting the prosecution’s case, he said that Lee was thought to have left home at about 8.50pm on Nov 17, 2017 and driven the white Maserati to Bedok Reservoir Road to pick up a laptop from one Larry Teo even though he was under a driving ban at the time.

After picking up the laptop, he was driving the car along Bedok Reservoir Road towards Eunos Link at about 9.20pm, when he was signalled to stop as police staff sergeant Khairulanwar Abd Kahar spotted him driving without wearing a seat belt, said the DPP.

Lee allegedly refused to stop, but was eventually compelled to do so at a signalised traffic junction due to traffic conditions.

DPP Koh said video footage of the incident showed that Mr Khairulanwar parked his patrol motorcycle in front of the Maserati before dismounting to approach the driver’s window to speak to the driver.

The driver wound down his window, and Mr Khairulanwar instructed him to pull over to the side of the road, DPP Koh said.

But instead of complying, the driver fled the scene by suddenly reversing the Maserati before accelerating quickly forward while Mr Khairulanwar was standing next to the driver’s side door.

With the sudden acceleration, Mr Khairulanwar’s uniform became caught in the door and the officer was dragged along with the moving vehicle, which was driving at a “considerable speed” of 79km/h to 84km/h for 124m before the officer fell off, DPP Koh said.

The prosecution’s case is that Lee knew that it was likely that Mr Khairulanwar would fall and suffer grievous hurt when he drove in that manner. Mr Khairulanwar suffered pain over the right knee, right neck, and lower back with right lower limb weakness, and received more than 20 days’ medical leave following the incident, DPP Koh said.

Because of the injuries, he was medically downgraded by the Home Team Medical Board, affecting the range of duties he was able to carry out as a traffic police officer.

Despite the “serious accident”, Lee fled the crime scene that day without rendering any help, DPP Koh said.

The escape was witnessed by a motorcyclist, who tried pursuing him as his pillion rider recorded the chase using his mobile camera, he said.

Lee was allegedly seen driving rashly during the chase by beating two red lights, overtaking vehicles without any signal and travelling against the flow of traffic, DPP Koh added.

After losing the pursuing motorcyclist, Lee abandoned the Maserati which was found by the police along Willow Avenue near Upper Aljunied Road, said DPP Koh. He then called his friend, Mr Jason Ong, to pick him up.

DPP Koh said Mr Ong had driven Lee to the house of another friend, where he admitted to that friend, Mr Jeff Chan, that he had driven the Maserati and run away from the traffic police earlier that evening.

Later that night, Lee also spoke to one Mr Jeffrey Ho on the phone and likewise admitted to him that he had run away from the traffic police, DPP Koh noted.

Mr Teo, Mr Ong, Mr Chan, and Mr Ho are among the prosecution’s list of 12 witnesses.

The court also heard that Lee allegedly threw the white T-shirt which he was wearing during the incident down the rubbish chute at Mr Chan’s home in order to evade police detection.

If convicted of voluntarily causing grievous hurt to a public servant, Lee could be jailed up to 15 years, fined, caned or a combination of those punishments. Other charges which he is facing in the trial include driving while disqualified, driving without insurance, failing to wear a seat belt and failing to stop to render assistance.

He also faces other charges that are not being dealt with in this trial, which include cheating, obstruction of justice, and offences under the Protection from Harassment Act. They were stood down for the purpose of the trial focusing on the events of Nov 17, 2017.

INJURED TRAFFIC POLICE OFFICER TESTIFIES

Two witnesses, including the injured traffic police officer, testified on Thursday, but they were not able to identify the driver.

Mr Khairulanwar told the court: “At that time, I was already in a state of trauma. Everything happened so fast.” He estimated that the speed of the car to be at 90km/h to 100km/h.

Holding up his torn uniform that was admitted as evidence, he said the safety arm pad on his left arm – which comprises a stiff arm guard stitched into the jacket – was caught in between the driver’s seat belt and seat through the open window that day when the car suddenly accelerated.

Stuck, Mr Khairulanwar had shouted at the driver to stop, but he carried on driving, he said. His head was outside the window as he was being dragged along, as he was wearing a helmet, he added.

He rolled onto the road when he finally managed to free his hand.

During cross-examination, he told Lee’s lawyer S Balamurugan that he felt a lot of pain in his left arm and could not move or stand up after he fell. He also wasn’t able to think clearly or speak immediately after the fall.

Mr Balamurugan put it to the victim that he ended up stuck because he had lunged at the car “voluntarily”, but the policeman disagreed.

The other witness on Thursday was Mr Tay Boon Chong, a technician who was in a van that drove past the Maserati and pulled over just in front of the injured policeman after he had shaken himself free of the vehicle.

“I looked over and saw the driver. I didn’t see his face. I can’t recognise him,” he said.

Mr Tay remembered only that the driver was wearing a white shirt.

The trial continues on Friday. Lee remains out on S$60,000 bail.