Wednesday, June 23, 2010

Land Rover death update

Will pen my thoughts later.


The Straits Times
Jun 23, 2010

Army driver fined $5,000

By Khushwant Singh

AN ARMY driver accidentally reversed a Land Rover into an officer, killing him in July last year.

Private Muhammad Abdul Qaiyuum Muhammed Iskander pleaded guilty on Tuesday to causing the death of Second Lieutenant Nicholas Chan Wei Kit, 21, by driving negligently. The 19-year-old was fined $5,000 and disqualified from driving all vehicles for four years.

He could also have been jailed for up to two years but District Judge Jill Tan said that while his negligence certainly caused a tragic result, she felt that the circumstances did not make a jail term necessary.

Both were full-time national servicemen and the court heard that on July 3 last year Muhammad Abdul Qaiyuum was with 2nd Lt Chan, who was the Motor-Transport Officer (MTO) of the Infantry Training Institute in Jurong West.

They had gone with two other drivers to retrieve two military Land Rovers from the motor workshop of Seletar Camp. When Muhammad Abdul Qaiyuum started the engine of one of the vehicles at 11.50am, he noticed 2nd Lt Chan standing behind the vehicle through the rear-view mirror.

After changing gear, he stepped on the accelerator to move forward. To his shock, the Land Rover lurched backwards and smashed into a fence. 2nd Lt Chan was found pinned under a wheel.

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