A 67-year-old woman was fined S$5,500 after she pleaded guilty to one charge each of riding a PMD on the road and committing a rash act endangering the safety of others.
On the morning of August 23 of last year, Zaharah Sa’at was riding an e-scooter to work when she observed an auxiliary police officer signalling for her to stop. In an attempt to evade the officer she rode and ended up hitting him.
The 52-year-old victim named Lek Yong Hock was injured and he was taken to the hospital and given five days of medical leave for the injuries to his head, jaw, arm and calf, according to today.
WHAT HAPPENED :
Lek Yong Hock, the victim, worked for the security company Certis Cisco and was conducting enforcement operations around the Chua Chu Kang area. He observed Zaharah riding her bike down Teck Whye Avenue without a helmet.
Lek tried to stop her and stepped onto the road, with the e-scooter moving towards his direction. When instructed to stop or slow down, the woman ignored the cue because she was afraid of being summoned.
She wanted to ride past Mr Lek but struck him instead, causing him to fall backwards and hit the back of his head on the ground.
Zaharah knew that riding an e-scooter on the road was prohibited and was afraid of being brought to task, so she did not stop or slow down when signalled to do so, today reported.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Jonathan Lee told the court: “She subsequently abandoned the PMD and fled on foot. She attempted to board a bus but was later stopped by other Certis Cisco and Land Transport Authority (LTA) officers.”
Given that she had previously received composition penalties for offences linked to PMD, LTA prosecution officer Darren Toh testified in court that Zaharah would have been well aware that she was breaking the law when riding the e-scooter on the road.
Additionally breaking the law, her e-scooter was not registered and did not adhere to the UL2272 fire safety standard. Without legal counsel, Zaharah pleaded the judge for the least penalty possible due to her old age through an interpreter. At the time of the incident, she was working as a cleaner, the court heard.
Under the Active Mobility Act, personal mobility devices (PMDs) such as electric scooters cannot be used on roads, footpaths or on pedestrian-only paths.
For riding a PMD on the road, she could have been fined up to S$2,000 or jailed for up to three months, or both. For committing a rash act endangering the life of another person, she could have been jailed for up to a year or fined up to S$5,000, or both.
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