A 24-year-old man, Xu Zhiwei (transliteration), has been sentenced to four weeks’ jail and fined $2,500 for multiple offences, including crashing his father’s car while driving without a licence, and later stealing a stranger’s motorcycle twice.
Xu was a polytechnic student at the time of the offences. He only held a Provisional Driving Licence (PDL) valid from February 24, 2022, to February 23, 2024. He had no valid driving licence, and the vehicle he drove was uninsured for third-party liability.
He faced 10 charges, including driving without a licence, negligent driving causing injury, and driving without the owner’s consent. He pleaded guilty to five charges; the rest were taken into consideration during sentencing.
Drove Father’s Car Without Permission for GrabHitch, Caused Accident
In the early hours of June 26, 2023, around 1am, Xu took his father’s car without permission to earn extra money ferrying passengers through GrabHitch.
At about 5.43am, after dropping a passenger off at Changi Airport, Xu was driving along the Tampines Expressway towards the Seletar Expressway. Having driven for several hours, he was likely fatigued and fell asleep at the wheel.
The car veered to the left and crashed into the rear of a bus ahead. The impact caused Xu’s vehicle to spin to the right.
At the time, it was raining and the road was slippery. However, traffic was moderate and visibility was good.
The SBS Transit bus was carrying 15 passengers. The driver suffered a back injury and was given three days of medical leave.
The back of the bus was badly damaged, with repair costs amounting to $52,280. Xu eventually reached a settlement with SBS Transit and agreed to pay $40,000 in compensation.
He was arrested on the day of the accident but was later released on bail.
Stole Motorcycle Twice in One Day
Despite the incident, Xu reoffended just two months later.
On a day in September 2023, pressed for time, he twice stole a motorcycle from a multi-storey car park at Block 290 Compassvale Crescent. The key had been left in the ignition.
In the morning, he rode the motorcycle to meet a friend, then returned it to the original spot.
Later that same afternoon, again running late, he repeated the act and rode off with the same motorcycle.
At about 10.30pm that night, the owner returned to the car park and found the motorcycle missing. He immediately called the police.
In the early hours of September 9, around 12.30am, the owner happened to spot Xu at a nearby park. Xu apologised and tried to settle the matter privately, but the owner had already reported it. The police arrested Xu at 1.40am.
Xu later claimed that on both occasions, he refuelled the motorcycle in an attempt to make up for the petrol he had used.
Sentencing and Driving Ban
Besides the four-week jail sentence and $2,500 fine, the judge also imposed a driving ban: Xu will not be allowed to hold or obtain any driving licence for two years after his release.
