The Nissan Presage driver, who was involved in the accident which killed National University undergraduate student Kathy Ong, aged 19, had his bail set at S$5,000. The pre-trial conference took place on Friday, October 11.
As per the court documents the car driver, 22-year-old Ng Li Ning, who was travelling straight along Commonwealth Avenue West towards Boon Lay Way on April 19, 2018, was charged for dangerous driving after he crashed into the taxi.
During the previous court hearing, Invictus Law Corporation lawyers told the judge that the Nissan driver had been speeding as he was going up to 97kmh on a 70kmh-limit road.
Earlier, the 55-year-old taxi driver, Yap Kok Hua pleaded guilty to one charge of a negligent act not amounting to culpable homicide and a second of causing grievous hurt to the surviving three passengers. He was sentenced to eight weeks of imprisonment.
The cabby allegedly failed to give way to another car while turning right at the junction of Clementi Road and Commonwealth Avenue West and collided with the Nissan car. Even though he saw Li was coming at a high speed, he decided to execute the discretionary right turn anyway.
This incident caused the death of the NUS student Kathy Ong and her friends, Zon Lim Thou Jung, Lim Jin Jie and Ting Jun Heng who were taken to the National University Hospital, 5 Lower Kent Ridge Road as they suffered from injuries such as fractures as well as multiple lacerations and a seizure.
After the accident, a video which captured the entire incident was shared on the social media platform that showed Ong, who had been pursuing a Bachelor of Environmental Studies in NUS, was thrown partially out of the window from the rear seat after the collision.
However, it was revealed that the Premier Taxi cabby did not ensure that the three rear passengers had fastened their seatbelts while boarding the taxi on their way to NUS' Tembusu College.
It should be mentioned that Yap has a bad driving record, as he had repeatedly committed traffic-related offences over 24 years from 1992 to 2016. His previous offences include careless driving, speeding and failing to conform to a red light signal.
