SINGAPORE — As he was assisting his passenger to remove a wheelchair from the boot of his car, taxi driver Ho Kee Hoe’s vehicle inched forward, which prompted him to rush back to the driver’s seat.

But instead of stepping on the brake, his foot hit the accelerator, which caused the taxi to charge through a gantry at Gleneagles Hospital before crashing into two other vehicles, including another taxi. A traffic marshal was struck by the second taxi.

The accident, which happened in the late morning of Oct 4, 2018, resulted in the death of a 70-year-old Indonesian passenger of the second taxi, who was on his way to a hospital appointment. In all, five people were injured.

On Monday (March 9), Ho, 64, pleaded guilty to one charge of committing a negligent act not amounting to culpable homicide. He will be sentenced on March 17.

The court heard that in the past, Ho had run up a string of traffic offences, mostly speeding, though he had no previous convictions in court.

One charge of committing a negligent act that endangered the personal safety of others, and another for endangering human life will be taken into consideration for sentencing on this latest case.

ONE PERSON DEAD, FIVE PEOPLE INJURED

A video of the accident, taken by an in-car camera and played in court, showed Ho with his body partially hanging out of his car as the vehicle hurtled through a lowered gantry arm before it ploughed into the left rear side of a taxi driven by Mr Ong Ann Hock.

Mr Ong, then 51, was travelling up the service road leading to Gleneagles Hospital with three Indonesian passengers, including the man who was killed in the accident, 70-year-old Suparno. The association between the passengers, if any, was not stated.

Suparno, who was the left rear passenger, died as a result of various injuries at about 1.40pm that day.

The impact had left Mr Ong with muscle sprains on his neck and back, while his passenger, Ms Tjhin Meliana, then 63, complained of heaviness to the head and pain on the left side of her lower back.

Only one of the occupants of Mr Ong’s taxi, Mr Robert Hooke, then 40, escaped unharmed.

After hitting the second taxi, Ho's taxi kept going and collided with a car travelling in the opposite direction to Mr Ong. The driver of the third car, Mr Thoo Wei Qiang, then 29, was left him with lower back pain as a result of the impact.

A fifth victim, a traffic marshal, was hit by Mr Ong’s car which veered in his direction after being struck by Ho’s taxi.

Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) Claire Poh said that while the traffic marshal Zainal Othman, then 58, was able to immediately get back to his feet and clear traffic, a medical report said that he had received some injuries to his spine.

DPP Poh said that Ho’s car was on a level road when he had dropped off his passenger on the driveway of the hospital’s Annex A building. Inspections of his vehicle found that there were no mechanical issues.

While the exact reasons for Suparno’s visit to the hospital were not stated, the prosecution said that he had undergone cardiac stenting two days before the fatal accident and had been hospitalised there several times before.

Suparno was admitted from July 30 to Sept 1 that year due to severe pneumonia. DPP Poh said that he survived the pneumonia but was readmitted two days later due to an inflammation of his left testicle and was discharged on Sept 7.

On Sept 10, he became breathless and was admitted for congestive heart failure and was discharged on Sept 18.

After the accident on Oct 4, Suparno was again hospitalised at Gleneagles. DPP Poh said that he had sustained several fractures, including on the ribs, as a result of the accident.

An autopsy revealed that it was these injuries, on top of Suparno’s heart condition, that had caused his death.

HISTORY OF DRIVING OFFENCES

Although Ho has never been convicted in court before, DPP Poh said that he has a long history of traffic related offences dating back to 1996 — mostly speeding-related fines.

Other fines and warnings were for driving across double white lines, driving in a bus lane and failing to stop at a red light. There were also a number of fines for indiscriminate parking.

Among the last few traffic offences that he committed before the fatal accident was one of careless driving on Aug 22, 2018.

DPP Poh, who sought a jail term of at least four weeks and a driving disqualification period of five years, said that on that date, Ho had received six demerit points for careless driving.

Ho, who was not represented by a lawyer in court, pleaded for leniency.

He told Principal District Judge Victor Yeo that he had just stopped driving for a living the week before because of this court case.

“I have no income. I need to support my parents and pay my bills,” Ho said, adding that his father is 102 years old.

Ho received a laceration on his left ear and abrasions to his right big toe as a result of the accident.

CORRECTION: An earlier version of the article stated that the case was heard by District Judge Koo Zhi Xuan. This is incorrect. It was heard by Principal District Judge Victor Yeo. We are sorry for the error.