Jail for cyclist who caused pedestrian’s death
A woman rode a bicycle with faulty rear brakes and ran into a 63-year-old pedestrian, who fell, hit her head on the ground, and subsequently died from a head injury.
On Sept 20, Li Lanying, 52, was sentenced to four weeks’ jail after pleading guilty to causing the older woman’s death by performing a negligent act not amounting to culpable homicide.
Li, a Chinese national, had known for two to three months before the accident that her bicycle brakes were faulty, but chose not to repair it, the court heard.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Tan Jing Min said the accident took place on March 8, 2023, along Martaban Road, a single-lane two-way road, towards Balestier Road.
At around 9pm that night, Li had just finished her shift at Tan Tock Seng Hospital, where she was employed as a housekeeper, and was on her way home.
She was riding at a fast speed downslope as retiree Lee Lai Kuen, who was on a daily night walk with her husband, was crossing the road, said the DPP.
As Li got close to Ms Lee, she applied her brakes but the bicycle failed to slow down as its braking system was defective, added the prosecutor.
Both women tried to avoid each other, but Li’s right handlebar hit Ms Lee’s right arm, causing her to fall backwards and hit her head on the ground.
Li also fell off her bicycle.
Ms Lee was unconscious when she was taken to hospital. She died on March 20, 2023.
The prosecutor said that Li did not repair her bicycle’s brakes, which she knew were faulty, because there were usually no pedestrians on the road when she commuted to and from work.
Seeking four to eight weeks’ jail for Li, DPP Tan said not only did she not fix the brakes, but she also travelled at a fast speed downslope during the time of the accident.
“Given these factors, the accused’s conduct borders on rashness,” said the prosecutor.
In mitigation, defence lawyer Lim Lei Theng said while she accepts that her client was negligent, the manner in which the accident occurred does not reflect a high culpability on Li’s part.
She sought leniency for her client, noting it was an accident and that Li and the victim were both trying to avoid each other.
Those convicted of causing the death of a person by committing a negligent act not amounting to culpable homicide can be jailed for up to two years, fined, or both.
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