A 73 year old taxi driver had been handed a sentence of two weeks jail and disqualified from driving for 24 months, after he crashed his taxi into a centre divider on the road, thus causing his rear seat passenger to be permanently paralysed.
The taxi driver, Gwee Sin Bin, had looked down while driving momentarily to think of a shorter route to take his passenger, 71 year old Mdm Sng Kwee Cheng, to Ang Mo Kio. Gwee had picked Mdm Sng up and was travelling along Hougang Avenue 8 on May 5 last year at about 9pm, when he lost control of his taxi and mounted a kerb on his right, hit the centre divider, a sign and two section of the green railings. Mdm Sng was seating in the rear left passenger seat, and was not wearing a seat belt.
She suffered horrendous injuries, and left her paralysed permanently. She now needs the help of a ventilator and a full time caregiver. Gwee, in his defense, said that he has high blood pressure and also added that he had to take care of his grandchildren.
