SINGAPORE: A man went on trial on Thursday (Jan 15) for attempting to murder a cyclist by running him over with a van in Kaki Bukit about three years ago.
Toh Sze Ee, a 51-year-old Singaporean, collided with the late Mr Hossen Selim, a 32-year-old Bangladeshi national before allegedly fleeing the scene.
Mr Hossen suffered serious injuries that rendered him comatose and he was taken back to Bangladesh after a period of hospitalisation, but died in February 2025.
His cause of death was not stated in open court.
In its opening statement, the prosecution said Toh knew the victim through their dealings in contraband cigarettes.
Sometime in February 2023, the victim was arrested in a raid by Singapore Customs.
Toh managed to evade arrest, but later confronted the victim as he suspected the latter had implicated him, said Deputy Public Prosecutor Hay Hung Chun.
It is undisputed that on Mar 16, 2023, Toh ran over the victim with a van.
However, he claimed trial to the charge of attempted murder.
Mr Hay said Toh drove the van along Kaki Bukit Avenue 5, towards Kaki Bukit Avenue 4 and made a U-turn, as the victim was on the other side of the road.
After this, he drove behind the victim, who was riding a bicycle, and collided with him at about 5pm on Mar 16, 2023.
The incident was captured on vehicle cameras from a tipper truck and a bus that were parked in the area.
Mr Hay said Toh did not stop immediately after impact. He alighted later to inspect the front of the van.
He later met a man in the Tampines area and told him that the victim had suddenly cycled into his path.
The pair went to an abandoned warehouse in Defu Lane to dispose of the contraband cigarettes that were in the van, and Toh abandoned the vehicle.
Toh also allegedly told a woman that the victim had been going straight like he was, but suddenly turned right and Toh could not brake in time.
After he was arrested, Toh was examined and found to have a background of substance abuse disorder and antisocial personality disorder.
However, no impairment in his capacity for self-control or restraint, awareness or understanding of his actions was found.
He also did not meet the requirement for stimulant withdrawal on the day of the incident, and an expert said it was unlikely that Toh had fallen asleep at the wheel as a withdrawal symptom from the use of methamphetamine that day.
The prosecution played videos of the collision in court and called several witnesses who testified briefly on Thursday morning.
These include the driver of the tipper truck, who did not see the accident but said he helped to control traffic, and a traffic police officer who had been dispatched to the scene.
The prosecution said it would prove that Toh had intended to cause bodily injury to the victim that was sufficient to cause death.
Toh is defended by Mr Eugene Thuraisingam and Mr Ng Yuan Siang from Mr Thuraisingam’s eponymous law firm.
The trial continues.
If found guilty of attempted murder, Toh could be jailed for life and caned, or jailed for up to 20 years and fined or caned.
Source: CNA
