S$2,400 fine for e-scooter rider who collided into 10-year-old girl

SINGAPORE — While riding his electric scooter at about 30 km/h on a shared path in Pasir Ris, Tan Jia Jun collided into a young girl from behind, who fell and hit her mouth.

The 10-year-old lost a tooth from the impact and her jaws and gum had to be realigned.

On Wednesday (March 11), Tan, 26, was fined S$2,400 for his actions.  The self-employed importer and seller of e-scooter parts pleaded guilty to a single charge of causing hurt to the girl by a negligent act.

The charge was reduced from that of causing hurt by a rash act, as Tan had suffered brain damage from a 2012 accident and was not “fully aware” of the dangers of his actions, Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) Angela Ang told the court.

In light of that, the prosecution also sought a fine instead of jail time. Tan could have been jailed up to six months, fined up to S$2,500, or both.

The court heard that the incident took place on April 12, 2018, outside the Pasir Ris East Community Centre.

Around 8pm, Tan was riding his e-scooter while blasting music on the shared path of a pathway along Pasir Ris Drive 1. His device weighed 24.8kg and had 78cm-long handlebars. 

Laws requiring e-scooters to weigh less than 20kg, not exceed 70cm in width and not go faster than 20 km/h kicked in only the following month, while e-scooters have been banned from all footpaths since November last year.

The pathway that Tan was on had two lanes: A pedestrian-only lane and a shared path, which was marked with a bicycle symbol and painted a visibly darker colour from the other lane.

Tan admitted that he was riding at about 30 km/h. His e-scooter had a digital speedometer on it.

The victim had just ended tuition lessons and was walking home alone along the pathway in between the two lanes.

When Tan approached the intersection of the pathway outside the community centre, he noticed the girl walking ahead of him. She turned around when she heard his music, then instinctively moved to the side to give way to him.

However, he was going too fast and was too close to her to stop his e-scooter or change directions. 

He ended up colliding into her shoulder from behind, causing her to fall face-down on the pathway. She immediately began to cry, blood dripping from her mouth, and a pedestrian that Tan had passed earlier went over to help.

Several passers-by also went to help and one of them made a police report.

The girl was taken to KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital in an ambulance. She had suffered abrasions on her elbows, knees and forehead, along with some loosened teeth.

She was given a week of medical leave and followed up with private dental treatment afterwards. Tan has since paid her family S$2,000 in restitution for medical fees.

In mitigation, his lawyer Gregory Chong said that he had stayed on the shared path at all times and could not avoid the girl. Tan was a “civic-minded guy” who took pictures of issues to send to the authorities, the lawyer added.

In handing down the sentence, District Judge Sarah Tan noted that both Tan and the victim had the right to be on the shared path.