SINGAPORE — A mistake by an auxiliary police officer, who was in charge of raising and lowering bollards, left two individuals with injuries during a visit by United States Vice-President Kamala Harris to the Istana last year. 

On Aug 23 last year, Tan Chee Kiat, who was then employed by Certis Cisco, was put in charge of bollards — which are short metal posts in the ground that can be activated to block access to cars — along a road that led into the Istana. 

Failing to notice that a car had yet to pass through, Tan raised the bollards causing the driver to collide into them. 

The driver, Mr Abdul Latif Karim, suffered a fracture to his sternum and a bruise on his knee. He was hospitalised for a day.

His passenger, then permanent secretary for foreign affairs Chee Wee Kiong, sustained multiple rib fractures as well as fractures to his sternum and tooth, and was in hospital for two days.

Mr Chee, 58, retired in April this year after a combined 40 years in the Singapore Armed Forces and the Public Service.

On Wednesday (Aug 31), Tan, now 30, was fined S$2,500 after pleading guilty in a district court to one count of negligence causing grievous hurt.

The court heard that Mr Abdul and Mr Chee had just cleared security checks and were travelling in the car along Edinburgh Road within the Istana grounds at about 9.15am. 

The car was moving at about 10km/h when Tan raised the bollards and Mr Abdul was unable to stop the car in time. 

Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) Jaime Pang said that standard safety procedures required Tan to check that cars have passed through before raising the bollards, which Tan negligently failed to do.

The prosecution did not assess Tan’s actions to warrant a jail sentence and sought a S$2,500 fine. 

“That said, the injuries caused to victims were severe and (Tan) was in a position of responsibility that he failed to discharge,” DPP Pang said.

Tan’s lawyer Wee Qianliang told the court that the panel that controlled the bollards was positioned such that his client’s back would face the road.

Tan would have had to push two buttons to raise the bollard and look out for cars behind him at the same time, said the lawyer from Covenant Chambers.

“My client does not want to attribute blame to the system,” he said. “But he did not notice any cars when he lifted the bollard.”

Mr Wee added that Tan was shocked by the incident and immediately offered help to Mr Chee and Mr Abdul. 

Tan’s employment with Certis Cisco was terminated immediately after the incident and he has been unemployed since, Mr Wee said, adding that Tan intends to actively seek employment after the court case is settled.

Mr Wee added that Tan has been attending counselling after the incident and his counsellor has noted that Tan shows “extreme guilt” over the incident and has showed symptoms of depression.

Highlighting Tan’s work ethic and character, Mr Wee said that Tan had a spotless record while he was employed and had received commendations at work for “going beyond the call of duty” and displaying “excellent work performance”.

Mr Wee asked for a S$2,000 fine but District Judge Chay Yuen Fatt went with the prosecution's request of S$2,500 instead, on the basis of the extent of injuries involved and that there were two victims as a result of Tan’s negligence.

For committing a negligent act causing hurt, Tan could have been jailed for two years or fined up to S$5,000, or both.

Ms Harris made a three-day visit to Singapore on Aug 22 last year in her first visit to Asia as the US vice-president.