(top: Phua Jia Chee (R) leaves the Subordinate courts with a man (L), believed to be his father.)
AT ONLY 19, polytechnic student Phua Jia Chee (below right) has to live with killing two friends and injuring a third after losing control while driving.
He was not speeding, nor had he been drinking, the court heard yesterday.
Phua, now 20, escaped jail but was fined in a district court a maximum of $10,000 on a charge of causing the deaths of two friends in the accident that occurred on Old Upper Thomson Road on Jan 29.
He could have been jailed for up to two years and fined.
He was also told he would be fined another $500 ? also the maximum amount ? for causing injuries to his front-seat passenger. He could have been jailed six months and fined $500.
The fact that Phua did not ensure that his back-seat passengers ? Mr David Li Zhensen, 18, and Mr Mervin Teo Chong Ming, 20 ? used their seat belts was also taken into consideration.
Phua, who got his licence about a year before the horrific crash, is also not allowed behind the wheel of a car or any vehicle for five years.
Phua declined to be interviewed, but his father kept apologising to the victims' families.
"Nobody wanted such a thing to happen," said Mr Phua, who did not wish to give his full name.
Mr Phua said his only child had been under tremendous pressure in the past year and had been feeling heartbroken over the incident. It has also been a difficult period for the family. "We have been trying to get by," he said.
Phua was driving his father's car at around 11.45 that night when he failed to have proper control while negotiating a bend, causing it to veer left, off the road proper, and plunge into a ditch before slamming into a tree. Just last month, the Land Transport Authority installed a safety guard and warning sign along the same bend, the court heard.
Mr Li, 18, was pronounced dead at the scene while Mr Teo, 20, died in hospital. Both had severe head injuries. The front-seat passenger, Mr Tan Han Leng, 20, had minor bruises and cuts to his left arm. He was in hospital for two days.
Pleading for leniency, Phua's lawyer Lim Tiang Yao said his client was deeply distressed over the loss of his two friends. "He has learnt his lesson about the perils of negligence...and it is one which he will not forget for the rest of his life," said Mr Lim in his mitigation plea.
When contacted, the mother of survivor Mr Tan said she did not blame Phua for what had happened. "He did not do this on purpose. We also want the best for him. If he had gone to jail, it may have affected his (future) career," said Madam Linda Loh, 59, an administrative officer.
The families of the dead men also spoke to The Strait Times and said they were still coming to terms with the deaths. "Whatever the sentence is, it makes no difference now...there's also no point in saying sorry," said Mr Dennis Li, 27, David's elder brother.
About this case
THE CHARGES: Phua Jia Chee, 20, admitted to causing the deaths of his rear seat passengers, Mr David Li Zhensen, 18, and Mr Mervin Teo Chong Ming, 20, by being negligent while in control of a motor vehicle at Old Upper Thomson Road on Jan 29.
He failed to have proper control of the car while negotiating a bend, causing it to veer left, off the road proper, and plunge into a ditch before colliding with a tree, resulting in the two men's deaths.
Phua also pleaded guilty to causing hurt to Mr Tan Han Leng, 20, who was the front seat passenger in his car, by performing a negligent act so as to endanger human life.
Two other charges of failing to ensure that his two rear seat passengers (Mr Li and Mr Teo) were wearing seat bets were taken into consideration.
SENTENCES: Phua was fined $10,000 and banned from driving for five years on the first charge.
He could have been jailed for up to two years and/or fined for causing death by performing any rash or negligent act not amounting to culpable homicide.
He was fined $500 on the second charge.
Phua could have been jailed for up to six months or both jailed and fined up to $500 for causing hurt to any person by performing an act so rashly or negligently as to endanger life or the personal safety of others.
This article was first published in The Straits Times on Dec 23, 2008.
