Van driver who figured in 2018 hit-and-run at BKE gets jailed, fined, banned from driving

Singapore— Zainlai Mashot, a van driver, entered a guilty plea in a 2018 hit-and-run accident on the Bukit Timah Expressway (BKE) that left a motorcyclist injured.

When he suddenly swerved to another lane, he hit a 24-year-old man on a motorcycle. But instead of stopping, Zainlai drove away from the scene of the accident.

The van driver was jailed for two weeks and a day and fined S$2,000. He was also banned from driving for two years.

The Straits Times (ST) wrote that he pleaded guilty to a number of offences on Tuesday (June 1), including causing grievous hurt by a negligent act, failing to stop after an accident, and removing the vehicle involved without police authority.

The incident occurred on September 7, 2018, when the van driver was on the BKE headed towards the Pan-Island Expressway at around 7.40 am.

He had been driving in the centre lane, and then made a sudden shift to the rightmost lane.

His van collided with a motorcycle, throwing the rider off the bike.

Instead of stopping and helping the motorcyclist, Zainlai drove away, which was caught on video.

SG Road Vigilante uploaded a video of the aftermath of the incident, showing the motorcyclist on the ground, writhing in pain.

The victim suffered a fracture to his elbow, as well as several abrasions on his arms and legs, ST reported. His motorcycle was also damaged. 

He ended up in hospital for four days and was also given hospitalisation leave of 50 days.

The court heard that Zainlai did not admit he had been involved in the collision in spite of the fact that the police were able to track down the van, which he had rented.

Only when he was shown a video of the incident did he admit to having been the driver of the van.

Zainlai did not pay any compensation to the motorcyclist, according to R Arvindren, the Deputy Public Prosecutor on the case.

DPP Arvindren also said that the driver was unremorseful, based on his initial refusal to admit to the police that he had driven the van involved in the accident.

/TISG

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