When the news of the death of the officer first broke, I recall
many dipshits blaming SAF. Turned out that the officer was killed
by an NSF driver.
NSF fined $5,000 for running over officer
THE circumstances did not merit a jail term, so Private Muhammad
Abdul Qaiyuum Muhammed Iskander was fined $5,000 after pleading
guilty to accidentally reversing a Land Rover into
Second-Lieutenant Nicholas Chan Wei Kit, 21, killing him last
July.
District Judge Jill Tan also noted that Muhammad Abdul Qaiyuum was
still traumatised by the tragic accident, and is still undergoing
counselling nearly a year later.
The 19-year-old, who pleaded guilty yesterday to causing death by
driving negligently, was also disqualified from driving all
vehicles for four years.
He could have been jailed for up to two years, but Judge Tan said
that while his negligence led to a tragic result, she felt that the
circumstances did not make a jail term necessary.
The court heard that on July 3 last year, Muhammad Abdul Qaiyuum
was with 2nd Lt Chan, who was then the Motor Transport Officer of
the Infantry Training Institute in Jurong West.
Both were full-time national servicemen, and had gone with two
other drivers to pick up 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.
When shifting to first gear, he inadvertently put the vehicle in
reverse gear instead.
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.
The other two drivers ran to get help while Muhammad Abdul Qaiyuum
stayed behind. He tried to talk to the injured officer but there
was no response.
More personnel soon arrived and tried to lift the vehicle manually,
but were unsuccessful. A military crane was then deployed at
12.15am and 2nd Lt Chan was rushed to the Changi General Hospital
soon after.
Cardiopulmonary resuscitation was administered, but he died at
1pm.
In the subsequent investigation, nothing wrong was found with the
Land Rover. It was, however, in reverse gear, and Muhammad Abdul
Qaiyuum admitted that this was his doing.
Asking the court to impose a fine and spare his client a jail term,
defence counsel Rudy Marican pointed out that it was a tragic
accident that could have happened to any driver.
His client was “immeasurably distressed at causing the death of an
officer he knew and respected” and is still requiring counselling
as he suffers from nightmares, said the lawyer.
Speaking to reporters after his parents paid the fine, Muhammad
Abdul Qaiyuum said that he was very sorry over the loss of a
life.
“My heart goes out to the family of 2nd Lt Chan. I’m still sad and
constantly wish that it did not happen,” he said softly.
Mr Marican added that the family was relieved that the case is
over, but realises that the Chans would never get over the loss of
their only child.
“It’s a very sad case for all involved,” he said.
The parents of 2nd Lt Chan were also in court but were too
distraught to comment.
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