Imprisonment and driving ban for the man who collided with a parked bus and caused his truck passenger to suffer multiple fractures in the hand.

Singapore – Sheikh Uli Kh Rahman Shah did not notice a parked bus that broke down on the Tampines Expressway, resulting in his truck colliding with the right rear of the bus, resulting in the truck passenger sustaining multiple fractures in both his hands.

The 38-year-old Singaporean was on Wednesday (November 1) sentenced to six weeks in prison after pleading guilty last month to driving without due care and attention under the Road Traffic Act.

The sheikh was also deprived of obtaining or obtaining all categories of driving license for a period of five years.

Court documents prepared by Deputy Public Prosecutor Etsuko Lim said the bus broke down on the far left of Tampines Expressway towards Seletar Expressway on June 12, 2020.

To alert oncoming vehicles, the bus driver, Mr. Chelaya Vinoth, placed a crash sign about three car lengths behind the bus and turned on the vehicle’s hazard lights.

At approximately 10.50pm, Mr. Shalayeh was standing in front of his bus while a number of mechanics were taking care of it when Al-Sheikh’s truck collided with the bus.

Sheikh claimed that he did not notice the bus until the last second when he tried to swerve his truck to the right.

The incident led to the sheikh’s cousin, Mr. Muhammad Saifullah Sayed Masoud, who was sitting in the front passenger seat of the car, being detained inside the car.

After his release, he was taken to Sengkang General Hospital by ambulance, where he was found to have multiple fractures in both hands.

He was hospitalized for approximately two weeks until June 24, during which he underwent surgery and had his hands and wrists placed in a cast.

He underwent another surgery on August 5, 2020 to remove some of the metal implants that had been inserted on June 16, and began occupational therapy to improve his hand and wrist functions.

Mr. Saifullah was on hospitalization leave for 65 days from June 13 to August 16, 2020.

A medical report dated March 8 this year stated that Mr Saifullah had full range of motion in both hands and that his fractures had healed well.

However, his left wrist had a slight decrease in range of motion indicating a permanent 2 percent weakness in his left wrist.

The Sheikh has since paid full compensation to Mr. Saifullah for all his medical bills incurred due to the accident.

Seeking six to eight weeks’ imprisonment and a mandatory disqualification of at least five years from all driving licences, DPP Lim said Sheikh was grossly inattentive while driving and that it was inexcusable that he failed to spot the large bus.

DPP Lim said the video footage showed that Sheikh was driving at a high speed due to significant damage to his truck due to the impact of the collision, but he did not specify the speed at which Sheikh was driving.

She added that maneuvering a truck was at least a little more difficult than a car, and required a faster reaction time, but instead of paying extra attention while driving, Sheikh drove too fast, which made it difficult for him to react on the road.

For driving without due care and attention, Sheikh could have been jailed for up to two years or fined up to S$5,000, or both, and disqualified from obtaining all categories of driving licenses for five years.