A thirty six year old woman has been sentenced to eleven days in prison following a serious traffic accident at a busy taxi stand in Serangoon. The defendant, Li Na, who is a Singapore permanent resident, appeared in court on April 6 2026 and pleaded guilty to one charge of driving without due care and attention. The incident, which occurred outside the Nex shopping mall, resulted in grievous hurt to a forty eight year old pedestrian. In addition to the custodial sentence, the court imposed a five year disqualification from driving, which will take effect from the date of her release from prison.
The events leading to the accident began on the morning of February 10 2025. Li Na had left her home at approximately 7am accompanied by her husband and their six year old son with the intention of dropping the child off at school. Initially, her husband was the one behind the wheel. After completing the school drop off, the couple drove toward the Serangoon Central area. Before reaching the taxi stand located outside Nex mall, the couple decided to switch roles. Li took over the driving duties as she planned to drop her husband off at the taxi stand so he could proceed to work.
At approximately 7.50am, as Li approached the designated drop off point, the area was crowded with at least ten people waiting for transport. As she prepared to bring the vehicle to a halt, she committed a critical operational error. Instead of applying the brakes as intended, she mistakenly stepped on the accelerator. This caused the vehicle to surge forward unexpectedly. The car struck a forty eight year old woman, and the front left wheel of the vehicle ran over the victim's right foot.
The momentum of the car did not stop there. The vehicle continued forward, hitting two other pedestrians and causing them to fall to the ground. Furthermore, the front right section of Li's car collided with the rear bumper of a stationary taxi that was occupied by both a driver and a passenger at the time. The Deputy Public Prosecutor highlighted that the lapse was particularly significant because it involved the confusion of two essential vehicle controls that perform opposite functions.
The medical consequences for the primary victim were severe. She was found to have suffered open fractures to the bones in her right leg, a fractured pelvis, a puncture wound to her thigh, and a deep laceration to her calf. These injuries necessitated multiple surgical procedures and resulted in a total of eighty nine days of hospitalization leave. The other individuals involved, including the two other pedestrians, the taxi driver, and the passenger, sustained various degrees of injury and were granted medical leave ranging from two to seven days.
During the sentencing phase, the prosecution sought a jail term of fifteen to twenty days, emphasizing the danger posed to the public in a crowded area. In mitigation, the defense counsel noted that this was Li Na's first criminal offense. Her lawyer stated that she accepted her responsibility and was pleading for leniency from the court. It was also mentioned that since the date of the accident, Li has not driven a vehicle and has expressed that she is unlikely to ever drive again due to the trauma of the event.
The judge ultimately decided on an eleven day jail term and the five year driving ban. This case serves as a somber reminder of the high level of concentration required when operating a vehicle, especially in high traffic pedestrian zones like shopping mall entrances and taxi stands. The court also took into consideration a second charge related to the other injured parties during the final sentencing.
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