THE man whose bus ran over and then dragged the trapped woman for nearly 10 metres, killing the China national, was on Wednesday jailed three weeks.

Lai Fook Siang was also slapped with a five-year driving ban.

Lai, 41, himself became an accident victim in Johor, a week after the first accident at the Rochor Road and Queen Street junction on Sept 11.

He went to court on Wednesday in crutches as he has lost part of his left leg, just above the knee.

The victim, Madam Wang Rui Yun, 44, a bakery assistant, came here to put her son through school. She was on her way home at about 10.35pm when Lai's bus hit her, pinning her under as it keep moving some distance.

She died on the spot of multiple injuries.

Her son, 13, has since returned to China after he completed his primary education here.

While investigations into the Sept 11 accident were going on, Lai was knocked down in Johor by a Mitsubishi Pajero SUV on Sept 18. It did not stop. Lai was then riding his motorcycle to work from his Johor home at about 6 am.

In his mitigation on Wednesday, Lai pleaded with District Judge Wong Keen Onn for leniency, saying:

'I think that the loss of my left leg is my retribution for killing the victim.'

The father of three children, aged one to four, has been with a Malaysian company providing a cross-border bus service for two years.

In sentencing Lai, Judge Wong noted that in many negligent driving cases, a fine would have been enough punishment.

But Judge Wong noted in Lai's case: 'Such an accident can be avoidable and such a death is needless. The body was dragged for 9.3 metres.

'That is not a short distance. This appears to be a serious case of negligent driving and the sentence must take the form of a custodial sentence.'

Read the full story in Thursday's edition of The Straits Times.