Beatty Sec vice-principal jailed for crashing car into Marine Parade market and injuring 3 people

A 52-year-old school vice-principal was sentenced to 10 days' jail on Thursday (Dec 26) for ramming his car into a florist's stall at Marine Terrace Market and injuring three people last December.

Lim Soon Wai, who is the vice-principal of Beatty Secondary School in Toa Payoh North, was also disqualified from driving for two-and-a-half years for causing grievous hurt through negligent driving.

Stomp first reported on the incident after Stomper Raj, a resident in the area, shared a video he took of the scene at Block 50A Marine Terrace.

(Story continues after video)

A Ministry of Education (MOE) spokesman told The Straits Times that Lim is an MOE staff member and that it "will review the case based on our internal disciplinary processes".

"MOE takes a serious view of misconduct by our staff, and will not hesitate to take disciplinary action against those who fail to adhere to our standards of conduct and discipline," said the spokesman.

According to The Straits Times, Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) Angela Ang told the court that Lim was trying to reverse his car into a parking space at the carpark at Block 50A Marine Terrace at 12.34pm on Dec 9 last year when the car bumped into the kerb.

He switched gears to drive forward but failed to maintain control over the vehicle, causing it to surge forward.

The car mounted a kerb and crashed head-on into a florist's stall in Marine Terrace Market, and struck three people who were in the stall.

The impact caused a 66-year-old man to be flung to one side where he landed on his back, and two women, aged 58 and 33, to be unconscious.

All three were taken to Changi General Hospital by ambulance.

DPP Ang said the man's left foot was crushed from the collision, causing him permanent disability.

The middle toe on his left foot had to be amputated.

The court heard that he may develop pain in the said foot from prolonged walking, running and standing.

The accident also caused the 58-year-old woman to fracture her right ankle and injure her right shoulder, while the 33-year-old woman suffered giddiness and an abrasion on one finger on her right hand.

Shortly after the incident, Lim had claimed his car had suddenly experienced a technical malfunction while he was parking, causing the accident.

However, DPP Ang said that no mechanical fault or abnormality was found in the vehicle after an inspection was conducted on it.

The volume of traffic was light at the time of the accident and the weather was fine, with a dry road surface and clear visibility.

For causing grievous hurt through a negligent act, Lim could have been jailed for up to two years, and fined up to $5,000.