A 25-year-old Malaysian motorcyclist was left with severe brain damage after he crashed into a wild boar carcass along Bukit Timah Expressway (BKE) on 13 November 2016. His family is now suing the Land Transport Authority (LTA) and National Parks Board (NParks) for over $250,000, according to the Chinese daily.
A defence paper filed by the LTA in a High Court pre-trial conference showed that the 80-kg boar ran onto the road near Eco-Link@BKE ecological bridge around 7pm that day and was hit by a car in an accident that killed the creature. The animal’s carcass was left lying on the second lane for about 13 minutes and other vehicles drove over the carcass or avoided it.
At about 7.16pm, Vicknesh Morthy crashed into the carcass while he was riding his motorbike to work. Vickesh was admitted to National University Hospital (NUH) where he remained warded for around a month before he was transferred to a hotel in Malaysia. Besides suffering brain injuries that impaired his cognitive ability, Vicknesh now depends on a wheelchair to move around and needs 24/7 help.
According to Vicknesh’s brother Sasithiren, their family only found out that the boar had died by the time Vicknesh crashed into it later – they had initially believed that Vicknesh had lost control of his bike while trying to avoid a living boar.
Vicknesh’s lawyer is arguing that the LTA and NParks should have been aware of the animals as well as the dangers they pose and that they should have informed commuters about these dangers. Vicknesh’s family is suing these authorities for negligence, as they feel these bodies have failed to do so.