As reported in the The New Paper a “hit-and-run” cyclist who in the first instance (State Court of Singapore) was sentenced to 8 weeks in jail, had his sentence reduced to 3 weeks upon appeal in the High Court. The High Court judge made the following observations (Public Prosecutor v Lim Choon Teck [2015] SGHC 265):

1. The general deterrence shown in this case may apply to those who use roller blades, small scooters, skate boards and other personal mobility devices to travel at high speeds on pavements in rash disregard of pedestrians which has caused much public concern.
2. In a situation a cyclist rides his bicycle in a rash manner on a pavement thereby endangering the life or the personal safety of pedestrians engages the following factors that demand  a deterrent sentence : (a) the offence is prevalent; (b) the offence affects public safety; and (c) the offence is difficult to detect and/or the offender is difficult to apprehend
3. Apart from the above it is breached following Rules: (a) rule 28(1) of the RTR; and (b) rule 29 of the Highway Code (Cap 276, R 11, 1990 Rev Ed).
4. Generally, the bigger and heavier the personal mobility device, the narrower the pavement, the higher the speed of travel, the lesser the visibility along the pavement and the higher the pedestrian density at the material time of the offence, the greater is the degree of rashness imputed to the offender and the longer will be the imprisonment.

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