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TODAY Newspaper
Wednesday August 18, 2010
Page 10
Driver who killed girl in accident ruled negligent
Salesman had exceeded speed limit
NG JING YNG
SINGAPORE — She would have turned six next month. But on a clear night last December, she was killed by a car driven by a salesman who had been speeding in his illegally modified vehicle. Zhao Linqian, five, was on her way to piano lessons at Punggol Plaza at 8.20pm with her grandfather when they were about to cross the two-lane road towards Punggol Way. She was wearing a pink ballet dress and was 1.02m tall. Just then, car salesman Tijan Syafiq Selamat, 27, was travelling towards them at between 71km/h and 85km/h. The speed limit for that stretch of road was 50km/h. Linqian was holding on to her grandfather when she suddenly let go and walked across the road first. Mr Tijan couldn't react in time and slammed into the girl who was flung 44m across the road. She suffered serious head injuries and died minutes later. Yesterday, State Coroner Kessler Soh ruled the traffic accident was caused by the negligent driver. Mr Soh said that, due to the speed of Mr Tijan’s car, “it significantly reduced reaction time for him”. He noted the car had no mechanical defects although it had been illegally modified. Mr Soh added the driver was negligent to travel at such a high speed along a road near a bus stop. Linqian’s father, Mr Zhao Peiyong, was in tears after the hearing and told reporters he would consult the investigating officer on what to do next. The 32-year-old engineer said that he would usually fetch Linqian to classes but could not make it that night. “My wife still cries every night,” said Mr Zhao, whose other child is a three-year-old boy.
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