1. news news
COLLISION 1
COLLISION 3
Lane 2
Lane 3
Lane 4
COLLISION 2
Lane 1
He braked abruptly on the Pan-Island
Expressway (PIE) just to show both his
middle fingers at a motorcyclist.
Pang Chon Seng’s reckless act sparked a nine-ve-
hicle pile-up that killed a motorcyclist in June last
year.
On June 3 this year, the 52-year-old workshop
manager was sentenced to four months’ jail for
reckless driving.
He was also disqualified from driving for four
years.
Pang was driving his black Toyota Wish on the
day of the accident when, without warning, he
abruptly swerved from lane to lane to harass mo-
torcyclist Johann Johari Nazir.
Mr Johann, whose wife was riding pillion, felt
Pang was driving too close to him and stopped
his motorcycle at a road shoulder near Toh Guan
Road.
ABRUPT
Pang then braked abruptly to make the rude ges-
ture to Mr Johann. His action caused three chain
collisions involving nine vehicles. (See infograph-
ic on left.)
The driver of a prime mover directly behind
Pang’s car jammed his brakes to avoid a collision.
Mr Lim Kok Aun, 48, whose lorry was behind
the prime mover, also braked hard.
This caused his vehicle to veer to the right and
spin onto the path of motorcyclist Liow Yong Seng,
which was on the first lane
Mr Liow could not stop in time and his motorcy-
cle collided with the lorry.
The impact was so great that the motorcy-
cle broke into two and was flung across the ex-
pressway.
Mr Liow was found dead under the lorry.
Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) Rachel Lee
said Pang, who left the scene after the pile-up,
had “deliberately chosen to persist in a continu-
ous and prolonged dangerous manner of driv-
ing”, The Straits Times reported.
Pang’s lawyer, Mr Louis Joseph, said his
client had gone after Mr Johann be-
cause he thought he had seen some-
one on a motorcycle taking photo-
graphs of him and wanted to get a
closer look.
DPP Lee said investigations
had found no evidence of these
photographs and even if that
had been the case, Pang’s reac-
tion was still disproportionate.
For his part in Mr Liow’s
death, lorry driver Lim was
fined $7,000 and disqualified
from driving for four years.
The prosecution argued
that he had failed to keep a
safe distance from the prime
mover or watch the road, hence
contributing to the accident.
Reports by DEWEY SIM
deweysim@sph.com.sg
For close to a year, he thought his
only son was responsible for the
accident that took his life.
When The New Paper told him that his
son, a motorcyclist who was then 35,
was an innocent victim of the crash, he
was so shocked that he walked into the
kitchen and broke down.
Mr Liow Chwee Hor, 69, said: “I feel
extremely sad and hurt knowing that
my son died for nothing.”
His son, Mr Liow Yong Seng, was the
only fatal victim in a nine-vehicle pile-
up on the Pan-Island Expressway (PIE)
in June last year. It was caused by a mo-
torist who braked abruptly to raise both
his middle fingers at another motorcy-
clist.
The driver, Pang Chon Seng, 52, was
sentenced earlier this month to four
months’ jail for reckless driving and dis-
qualified from driving for four years.
(See report on facing page.)
Almost a year after the tragedy, Mr
Liow and his wife, Madam Soh Ah Hua,
have yet to come to terms with their
son’s death.
Mr Liow said he still sends text mes-
sages to his son’s mobile number regu-
larly in the hope that his son would be
able to “read” them.
“I hope he will be able to read the
heartfelt messages,” he said in an inter-
view in Mandarin at their three-room
SMASHED:
The impact
was so great
that Mr Liow
Yong Seng’s
motorcycle
broke into two
and was flung
across the
expressway.
PHOTOS: LIANHE
ZAOBAO, THE
STRAITS TIMES
flat at Hougang Avenue 5.
As he scrolled through the messag-
es on his phone, Mr Liow tried to fight
back his tears.
Recalling the accident, Mr Liow said
he learnt about his son’s death the day
after it happened.
His daughter was afraid that her el-
derly parents would not be able to deal
with the tragedy.
Mr Liow said he burst into tears when
he heard the news.
He said: “We painstakingly brought
our son up for 35 years but he was gone
in just a second.”
He also spoke movingly of his son.
PAINFUL
“It was especially painful losing him as
he was very filial towards us. He respect-
ed us and never once argued with us.”
Mr Liow said his son would take him
for his eye treatment weekly despite his
busy work schedule.
He declined to talk about his son’s job
but said that he worked shifts.
The younger Mr Liow was planning to
marry his fiancee next year and had reg-
istered to buy a flat.
He had asked his parents to move in
with him after the flat was ready but
sadly, did not live to see his plans come
to fruition.
Mr Liow said: “He was our everything
and prepared our future for us. But now
all is gone.”
He was furious when his son bought a
motorcycle as he had heard of the many
road accidents involving motorcycles.
He said: “I knew it was very danger-
ous.”
But his son assured him that he would
be careful. And apart from some minor
accidents, he proved it by riding safely
for more than 10 years.
Eventually, Mr Liow grew to accept
his son’s love for motorcycles.
Tearing, he said: “It has been a year.
But I will always remember him until
the moment I die.”
When his son was alive, he would
hear the sound of the metal gate open-
ing every afternoon when his son got
home from work.
His son would often sit on the couch
in the living room and play his video
games.
But now he no longer gets to hear
those familiar sounds.
Asked if he will forgive Pang for caus-
ing the accident that took his son’s life,
Mr Liow said it was pointless to hate.
“I can forgive him or hate him but it
will never bring my son back to life.”
With a heavy heart, Mr Liow advises
young motorcyclists to be careful when
on the roads.
“Every parent will feel the same if
their child gets into an accident. And it
is a kind of pain no parent will want to
go through,” he said.
He braked
just to make
rude gesture
JAILED:
Pang Chon
Seng was
sentenced
to four
months’ jail
and banned
from
driving for
four years.
by the
NUmBeRs
Pang Chon Seng abruptly
stops his Toyota Wish on
Lane 3 of the PIE to show
both his middle fingers
at a motorcyclist who
has stopped on the road
shoulder.
WHAT HAPPeNeD
TNP INFOGRAPHICS:
KELVIN CHAN & TEOH YI CHIE
A prime mover
behind Pang’s car
manages to brake
in time, but a lorry
behind it veers to
Lane 1 to avoid a
collision.
The lorry spins
until it comes to
a stop and faces
oncoming traffic.
Mr Liow Yong
Seng, who is riding
his motorcycle on
Lane 1, is unable
to stop in time.
His motorcycle
collides with the
lorry, killing him.
His bike splits
into two and is
flung across the
expressway to
Lane 4.
Two cars behind Mr
Liow’s bike on Lane 1
manage to slow down.
A motorcyclist
on Lane 2 loses
his balance and
falls off his bike.
Two cars on
Lane 2 stop in
time.
We pains-
takingly
brought
our son up
for 35 years
but he was
gone in just
a second.
— Mr Liow
Chwee Hor
But a third car
slams into the
second, causing
it to hit the first.
But a third car slams
into the second car,
causing it to hit the
first.
my son
died for
Father of motorcyclist
who died in
nine-vehicle pile-up
caused by motorist’s
reckless act says:
Number of reckless driving cases
LAsT YeAR
230
2013
351This dip in numbers spells hope for road safety in Singapore, as
reckless driving is one of the main causes of accidents in Singapore,
Mr Gopinath Menon, 70, a road safety expert, told The New Paper.
Number of cases related to road bullying, or road rage
LAsT YeAR
68
2013
90Mr Gopinath said road rage incidents were dangerous and could lead
to accidents if motorists were out of control. “Motorists should follow
the rules of the road. This would mean safer roads for everyone.”
nothing
2
Tuesday, June 16 2015 THENEWPAPER THENEWPAPER Tuesday, June 16 2015
3