Japanese man who crashed car into Singapore bus stop blames work culture for mishap
- The man was the most junior worker at his firm and drove a company car to send a senior colleague home, although he was feeling unwell
- A judge handed down a US$3,675 fine for causing grievous hurt to his son and another US$1,470 in fines for hurting a pedestrian
As the most junior employee at a Japanese company, he had taken it upon himself to drive the company car to drop off a more senior colleague, even though he was not feeling well that day.
This culture in his work environment was pitched as a mitigating factor for why he fell asleep at the wheel and ploughed into a bus stop along Kampong Bahru Road three months ago.
The name of the company the 28-year-old was working for at that time was not stated in court documents.
His lawyer, Christian Teo, told the court that the man had “agreed reluctantly” to drive on the night of September 7, dropping off a colleague before he nodded off at 11.45pm while driving his 28-year-old wife and one-year-old son home. His son, who was 10 months old at that time, was the most seriously injured – suffering a fractured skull, he received treatment at National University Hospital for more than a day.
The man’s wife suffered superficial injuries – redness to her left forehead, left eye, and pain in her left knee.
A 37-year-old Sri Lankan national who was standing at the bus stop sustained abrasions and had back pain.
