Over 5 years' jail for driver who caused teen's death during highway race, said she ‘deserved it'

Straits Times

12 hours ago

Apart from his jail term, Jarrett Tee was handed a 10-year driving ban for his offence. PHOTO: SHIN MIN DAILY NEWS
Over 5 years' jail for driver who caused teen's death during highway race, said she 'deserved it'
SINGAPORE - A driver who played blocking and braking games with a motorcycle and went at speeds of up to 160kmh on the expressway showed no remorse despite causing the death of the 18-year-old pillion rider on the motorcycle .
When his friend said he was crazy to play with someone's life, the driver replied that the victim 'deserved it' as she pushed his limits.
Jarrett Tee Lee Kiat, 30 , was sentenced to five years and eight months' jail on June 27 after he pleaded guilty to dangerous driving causing the death of Ms Leann Lim Jia Le.
Ms Lim, an 18-year-old student, was the pillion rider on the motorcycle when Tee swerved into it, causing Ms Lim to be flung onto the road.
The collision also left the motorcycle rider, Mr Kovan Tan, 27, injured with multiple abrasions and a right-hand laceration.
Apart from his jail term, Tee was handed a 10-year driving ban for his offence.
He was a student at the National University of Singapore at the time of the incident, as well as a part-time chef and social media influencer.
On the night of Feb 23, 2024, Tee contacted a man identified in court documents as Vincent Loh via Telegram and asked if he was interested to go 'grounding' with two girls.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Paul Chia said 'grounding' was a slang understood as the act of driving around aimlessly.
Mr Loh agreed to Tee's suggestion, and the men and two 16-year-old girls met at Sembawang for supper before driving around separately in Tee's and Mr Loh's cars.
Sometime during the night, Ms Lim and her boyfriend, 16, met up with the group.
At one point, a 16-year-old girl and Ms Lim's boyfriend ended up with Tee in his rented Mercedes-Benz car , while Mr Tan rode his motorcycle with Ms Lim as pillion.
The two vehicles travelled along the East Coast Parkway (ECP) to meet Mr Loh and another 16-year-old girl at East Coast Park.
On their way there, Tee and Mr Tan raced one another with Tee's car going at speeds of up to 160kmh.
Tee then sped up, overtook Mr Tan's motorcycle and began to play 'blocking and braking games'.
Tee then told his passengers: 'Do you want to see motorcycle fly?', to which Ms Lim's boyfriend pleaded with him not to.
When Tee saw the motorcycle about to overtake him, he immediately swerved his car to block it.
His car swiped the motorcycle, causing both Mr Tan and Ms Lim to be flung about five to eight metres away.
Before the police or ambulance arrived, Tee called Mr Loh and said the motorcycle had collided with him.
When Mr Loh asked how it happened, Tee said Mr Tan kept revving the motorcycle at him and that Ms Lim had pointed her middle finger at him so he 'played with the motorcycle'.
Following the collision, Ms Lim was found to have suffered significant brain injury and died in hospital.
Tee was arrested at the scene and lied to the police that the motorcycle was 'tailgating (him) and was high-beaming (him)'. He was later released on bail.
After his release from police custody, Tee met up with Mr Loh, who asked if he was afraid following the incident.
Tee replied 'why scared', and said: 'Who ask her to pissed me off? The accident (that) caused her death is what she deserved.'
In his submissions, DPP Chia said the facts surrounding this case set out 'one of the worst examples of dangerous driving possible' .
'The way which the accused drove which resulted in the collision and the death of Leann was extremely dangerous. His level of culpability is on the extreme end of high,' the prosecutor added.
Those convicted of dangerous driving causing death can be jailed for between two and eight years, and can be disqualified from driving.
Nadine Chua is a crime and court journalist at The Straits Times.
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