The lengths to which some would go in order to get money are unparalleled.
A 56-year old disabled man was caught in the act of trying to seek compensation for yet another “car accident”, when a defence lawyer brought to light that he was involved in 15 such “accidents” over 10 years, and had sought compensation for nine of them.
According to a report in the Shin Min Daily News, the man was involved in an accident along Dunlop Street on September 3, 2011, which he claimed left him with neck injuries and nearly $1,000 in medical bills.
An account of the incident was as follows: The man, physically disabled, was driving along Jalan Besar when he suddenly jammed his brakes. A motorist behind him, 59-year old Mr Chen, also had to come to a jarring halt in order to avoid a collision with the disabled man’s car.
Even after Mr Chen alighted and confirmed that there were no damages to the car, the disabled man still asked him for S$100 in compensation, which Mr Chen paid. The two men also confirmed no injuries on either party and agreed that police involvement was unnecessary.
However, one month following the incident, Mr Chen was notified by the Traffic Police (TP) to lodge a report, as the disabled man was injured and on medical leave.
The man went so far as to pursue legal action against Mr Chen, claiming that because of the collision he had sustained neck injuries and that he had to undergo treatment 13 times, and spent S$1000 in the process.
He also had five medical reports and two Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) scans.
It was then brought to light that that six years before the incident, the disabled man had been involved in another accident in 2004, claiming similar injuries.
He also had been involved in a total of 15 such “accidents”, where he sought compensation after pursuing a legal case.
This time, his case was dismissed by the judge in April.
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obbana@theindependent.sg