HE stopped his car abruptly on the fast lane of a busy highway
to insert his CashCard.
Miss Tiong's bike which was damaged after the accident. TNP File
Picture: GAVIN FOO
And it caused an accident that left a woman seriously
injured.
But to Mr Lim Huang Khim, 45, it was the 'natural thing' to do.
He does not think he did anything wrong.
This, despite being fined for his inconsiderate driving that
caused a motorcyclist to slam into the car behind him - which had
braked in time to avoid hitting Mr Lim's car.
This, despite a judge ruling in a civil suit that Mr Lim was 50
per cent liable for the accident.
The motorcyclist, Miss Tiong Zhen Cheng, 33, was flung more than
20m and landed beside Mr Lim's car.
The sales executive was warded in the intensive care unit and
spent about a week in hospital. She still suffers pain and some
memory loss.
Miss Tiong ended up being sued by the driver of the second car,
Mr Lye Chiew Meng, for the damage to his Toyota.
His rear windscreen was shattered and the repair bill came to
$7,000.
But her insurance company felt Mr Lim should also be liable and
he was named as the third party in the civil suit.
SMILED MANY TIMES IN COURT
TNP Photo Illustration
Earlier this month, Mr Lim, who works as a driver, insisted he
was not to blame and smiled several times as he recounted the
accident on the stand.
He was chided by District Judge Lim Wee Meng for his
cavalier attitude.
Judge Lim said: 'I don't think it's funny. Someone was seriously
injured and I don't think it's funny at all.'
The accident happened around 7.50pm on 29 Nov 2006 on the
Central Expressway, just before the Electronic Road Pricing (ERP)
gantry near the Braddell exit.
Mr Lim was driving a rented silver Mitsubishi car and was
travelling on the extreme right lane on his way home with his wife
and four children.
When he saw that the gantry was activated, he switched on the
car's hazard lights and stopped to slot in his CashCard.
Mr Lye, a finance manager, who was behind him, managed to stop
in time. But Miss Tiong's 400cc Honda motorbike crashed into Mr
Lye's car.
When cross-examined by Miss Tiong's lawyer, Mr Lim maintained
that he was not at fault.
Her lawyer, Mr William Chai, asked: 'A car was damaged, a person
was severely and mentally injured, are you saying you are not
responsible? Not even 1 per cent?'
Mr Lim replied: 'I'm saying that I'm totally not to be
blamed.'
He told the court that he had not inserted his CashCard into the
in-vehicle unit (IU) earlier because he did not know that the ERP
gantry was activated at that time.
When asked if seeing the activated gantry was a big surprise, Mr
Lim said he had seen it from afar and was trying to insert the
CashCard in time.
He also told the court that he did not see Miss Tiong's bike
behind Mr Lye's car.
He admitted that following the accident, he had purposely left
out in his police report the reason for stopping his car as he knew
that it was an offence.
Mr Lim, who has been driving for 24 years, was fined $200 by the
Traffic Police for inconsiderate driving and given nine demerit
points.
But in his affidavit tendered to the court, he said: 'I decided
to pay the $200 out of convenience even though I do not believe
that I should be responsible for the accident.
'I did not want the trouble to engage a lawyer to contest the
claim because this would be time-consuming and the legal fees would
definitely exceed $200.'
In contrast, Mr Lye was apologetic about what happened to Miss
Tiong. His lawyer, Miss Bonnie Kwok, told the court: 'My client
would like to extend his sympathies to Miss Tiong.'
She also said that while Mr Lye could clearly see the traffic
conditions in front of him, Miss Tiong could not.
Said Miss Kwok: 'It's not a situation whereby the vehicles were
approaching a traffic light junction, so there's no reason for Miss
Tiong to anticipate a sudden stopping.
'Mr Lim had created a dangerous situation. I found it rather
distasteful that Mr Lim's demeanour in court showed that he
couldn't be bothered that Miss Tiong had suffered severe injuries
and trauma.'
Before giving his verdict, the judge pointed out that Mr Lim
could have gone through the ERP gantry and paid an administrative
fee of $10 for not having a CashCard.
LIABLE FOR DAMAGE
He ruled that Mr Lim and Miss Tiong were each 50 per cent liable
for the damage caused to Mr Lye's car.
When contacted by The New Paper, Mr Lim insisted that he was not
in the wrong.
He said in Mandarin: 'Are you a driver? Have you driven a car
before?
'If you have, you should know that it's a driver's natural
reaction (when you see an activated gantry).
'You can't say it's right or wrong because there's no right or
wrong in such situations. I did switch on the hazard lights to warn
the vehicles behind me.'
Mr Lim said that he felt sorry for the injured Miss Tiong,
though he did not speak to her in court.
'She might think that I have an ulterior motive if I went up to
her and apologised,' he said.
Just two days before the accident involving Miss Tiong, Mr Lim
said he was involved in a similar accident along the East Coast
Parkway.
Mr Lim told The New Paper that the car in front of his had
slowed down suddenly.
'So I also braked and stopped my car to take a closer look at
what the driver was up to and to take down his licence plate
number,' he said.
'But the car behind me couldn't stop in time and ended up
crashing into the rear of my car.'
Mr Lim said the first car then drove off. His car, a Honda
Stream, ended up at the workshop for five days.
That was why he was driving a rented car, which did not have a
CashCard in the IU.
Mr Lim added: 'If I was driving my car, this wouldn't have
happened because I always have the CashCard inside the IU.'
