Toh Sze Ee is accused of intending to cause fatal injuries, although he claims to have fallen asleep at the wheel. - Photo: Shin Min Daily News
SINGAPORE: A 51-year-old man who drove a rented van and ran over a 32-year-old Bangladeshi in Kaki Bukit went on trial for attempted murder.
Toh Sze Ee, a Singaporean, was acquainted with the victim, Hossen Selim, through their dealings in contraband cigarettes, the prosecution told the High Court on Thursday (Jan 15).
Hossen sustained serious injuries, including multiple rib fractures, skull fractures and a broken neck, and died in Bangladesh around two years after the 2023 incident.
He was arrested in February 2023 by Singapore Customs over contraband cigarettes, while Toh managed to evade arrest.
Toh later confronted Hossen as he suspected that the victim had implicated him as well, said Deputy Public Prosecutor Hay Hung Chun.
It is undisputed that on March 16, 2023, Toh drove a van and ran over Hossen, who was riding his bicycle, along Kaki Bukit Avenue 5 towards Kaki Bukit Road 5.
DPP Hay said the prosecution will prove that Toh, in running over Hossen, had intended to cause fatal injury to the victim.
Toh claims he had fallen asleep at the wheel. He is defended by Eugene Thuraisingam.
DPP Hay said the two men had arranged to meet on the day of the incident.
At about 5pm, Toh drove behind Hossen and collided into him.
The incident was captured on dashcam footage from a tipper truck and a private bus that were parked by the side of the road.
The prosecutor said Toh stopped some distance down the road, where he alighted to check the front of the van.
Toh later phoned a friend named Teo Kim Chiew, and told the latter that he had knocked down a Bangladeshi in Kaki Bukit Avenue 5.
When Teo arrived at the scene, a passer-by had already called for an ambulance, which took Hossen to Changi General Hospital.
Toh told Teo, when they later met in Tampines, that the victim had suddenly cycled into his path.
The two men then drove separately to an abandoned warehouse in Defu Lane 12 to dispose of the contraband cigarettes in the van Toh was driving.
Toh abandoned the van on the road outside the warehouse. The van was rented by a man named Nicholas Gabriel, who had helped Toh as he did not have a valid driving licence.
The following day, Teo drove Toh to the home of his girlfriend, Irene Kwok. She told Toh that police officers were looking for him.
Toh replied that he had no time to explain, hastily retrieved a phone, and left.
A few days later, when she asked Toh about the incident, he told her that the victim suddenly turned right and he could not brake in time, which resulted in him colliding into the victim.
“The accused did not inform Teo and Irene that he had fallen asleep at the wheel during the collision,” said DPP Hay.
Hossen underwent various surgical procedures and was moved from the intensive care unit to the high dependency unit on March 26, 2023.
He was later moved to the general ward on April 3, and was diagnosed to have “no capacity”.
He was repatriated to Bangladesh, where he died in February 2025.
A psychiatric evaluation of Toh found that he has a background of substance use disorder and antisocial personality disorder, but did not otherwise suffer from a major psychiatric condition.
Dr Charles Mak, who also said in a report it was unlikely that Toh had fallen asleep at the wheel due to fatigue as a withdrawal symptom from abusing methamphetamine on the day, is lined up to testify in the trial. - The Straits Times/ANN
