Singapore — A 30-year-old man was sentenced to three weeks in jail on Monday (Sept 14) after pleading guilty to a charge of causing hurt by a rash act and another of dishonest misappropriation of property.
The first charge faced by Mohamed Syazwan Abdul Aziz was for colliding with a 48-year-old woman pedestrian while riding his e-scooter, while the second was for stealing a delivery person’s e-bicycle.
According to a report on todayonline.com, the first incident took place on Feb 11, 2019, near the Bedok Reservoir MRT Station.
Regardless of two barricades and a “slow” marker that was placed on a connector path, the accused still rode his e-scooter carelessly, causing him to hit the woman. Although she was reportedly wearing headphones, she could still hear what was going on around her.
According to Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) Deborah Lee, the woman had been making her way past two yellow barricades along the park connector path when Syazwan “swiftly weaved” through them, completely ignoring the marker warning to slow down. The barricades were put in place precisely to slow down users of personal mobility devices along the park connector.
It was also shared that the e-scooter lacked a speedometer, which meant that the rider did not know what his speed was at the time of the incident.
He could clearly see the woman walking in front of him yet he did not slow down and ended up hitting her from behind. Ms Lee added that there should have been “more than enough room” for Syazwan to go past her.
The pedestrian was hurled forward almost a metre, falling to the ground and hitting her head on the pavement. The impact caused her to momentarily lose consciousness and when she recovered consciousness she felt pain in her head and right arm.
She called the police to report the incident, explaining that she had been hurt and that she was a cancer patient.
She was treated at the Singapore General Hospital later that day for injuries on her elbow, as well as swelling under her skull. The hospital charges came to S$600.
Although e-scooter riders were allowed to use the park connector networks and cycling paths at that time, they have been banned from footpaths since November 2019.
The second offence occurred on March 24, 2020, just a little over a year after the first incident.
Syazwan stole an e-bicycle that had a pink Foodpanda delivery thermal bag attached to it. The e-bike had been parked in the void deck of Block 701, Bedok Reservoir Road.
The 44-year-old Foodpanda rider had left his e-bike in the bicycle bay before going home for the day, leaving the thermal bag attached to it. It was 4 am when Syazwan took the S$900 e-bicycle. The bike has since been returned to its owner.
During sentencing, the court considered a charge of harassment involving the accused late last year. He had been accused of verbally abusing a man at the Waterview Condominium in Tampines.
Syazwan could have been jailed for up to two years, or fined, or both for dishonest misappropriation of property. He could have also been jailed for up to a year, or fined up to S$5,000, or both for causing hurt by a rash act. /TISG