Van driver originally charged with attempted murder jailed 14 years for running over cyclist

The judge noted that even when the attempted murder charge was changed to voluntarily causing grievous hurt with a weapon, Toh Sze Ee chose not to plead guilty and instead asked for acquittal.

A view of the Supreme Court building in Singapore.

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SINGAPORE: A van driver originally on trial for attempted murder for running over a fellow contraband cigarette dealer was sentenced to 14 years' jail on Wednesday (Sep 2) for a downgraded charge.

The charge was amended to voluntarily causing grievous hurt with a weapon in the form of a van near the close of trial. However, 51-year-old Singaporean Toh Sze Ee chose not plead guilty to the amended charge, the judge noted.

Instead, submissions were made on his behalf seeking acquittal.

The victim, 32-year-old Bangladeshi Hossen Selim, had suffered serious injuries from the collision along Kaki Bukit Avenue 5 on Mar 16, 2023.

He fell into a coma and was taken back to Bangladesh about two years later, before dying in February 2025.

Deputy Public Prosecutors Hay Hung Chun, Wong Shiau Yin and Phoebe Tan had sought 14 to 14.5 years' jail, taking into account the serious injuries and Toh's culpability.

They said Toh came to know the victim in late 2022 through their dealings in contraband cigarettes.

In February 2023, Singapore Customs officers laid an ambush, disrupting a transaction between Toh and the victim. Hossen was captured while Toh escaped.

Toh later believed that the victim would have implicated him. He took matters into his own hands while driving a van behind the victim who was on a bicycle, said the prosecution.

Defence lawyers Eugene Thuraisingam, Johannes Hadi and Lai Zu En sought nine to 10 years' jail instead.

Mr Hadi said the prosecution accepted that the victim's death may not be said to have been caused by the offence.

He said it was undisputed that Toh had travelled at a modest speed, with no acceleration in any way to increase the potential blunt force trauma.

Justice Andre Maniam said Toh had a motive to cause grievous hurt to the victim because he was concerned that the latter had implicated him or might do so.

He accepted the defence's contention that there was no premeditation or elaborate planning, but said this did not detract from the intention to hurt the victim.

Although the van was driven at a constant speed of 30kmh, this was sufficient to cause serious injury to the victim, and Toh did not help him afterwards, said the judge.

He saw no remorse demonstrated by Toh and did not give him credit for cooperating with the authorities.

He noted that Toh was 48-and-a-half years old at the time of the offence and would have been liable to be caned if he had been sentenced before he turned 50.

The initial charge presented was attempted murder and he claimed trial to this.

"However, when the charge was amended to the present one at the stage of closing submissions, he chose not to plead guilty to it; instead, submissions were made on his behalf seeking acquittal," said Justice Maniam.

He thus imposed six months' jail in lieu of 12 strokes of the cane. This is part of the 14-year jail term.

Voluntarily causing grievous hurt by dangerous weapons or means is punishable by life imprisonment, or with up to 15 years' jail, caning and a fine.

By law, Toh cannot be caned since he is above 50 years old.

He had separately pleaded guilty to offences under the Customs Act in March 2025 and was sentenced to 32 months' jail for that, which he has completed serving.

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法官指出，即使谋杀未遂的指控被改为使用武器故意造成严重伤害，杜思义仍然选择不认罪，而是请求无罪释放。

新加坡最高法院大楼一景。

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新加坡：一名货车司机因驾车撞倒一名走私香烟的同行而被控谋杀未遂，周三（9月2日）因罪名降级而被判处14年监禁。

审判临近尾声时，控罪名改为使用货车作为武器蓄意造成严重伤害。然而，法官指出，51岁的新加坡籍被告杜思义选择不认罪。

相反，有人代表他提交了无罪释放申请。

受害者是 32 岁的孟加拉国人 Hossen Selim，他在 2023 年 3 月 16 日于 Kaki Bukit Avenue 5 发生的碰撞事故中受了重伤。

他陷入昏迷，大约两年后被送回孟加拉国，并于 2025 年 2 月去世。

副检察官许鸿俊、黄晓燕和陈菲比考虑到伤势严重以及杜某的罪责，要求判处其 14 至 14.5 年监禁。

他们说，Toh 在 2022 年底通过走私香烟的交易认识了受害者。

2023年2月，新加坡海关人员设下埋伏，破坏了Toh与受害者之间的交易。Hossen被捕，Toh逃脱。

检方称，托赫后来认为受害者会供出他。他驾驶面包车尾随骑自行车的受害者，并自行采取行动。

辩护律师尤金·图莱辛加姆、约翰内斯·哈迪和赖祖恩请求判处九至十年监禁。

哈迪先生表示，检方承认受害者的死亡可能并非由该罪行直接导致。

他说，毫无疑问，Toh 的行驶速度并不快，没有任何加速行为，因此不会增加钝力创伤的可能性。

安德烈·马尼亚姆法官表示，托赫有动机对受害者造成严重伤害，因为他担心受害者已经或可能牵连到他。

他接受了辩方的说法，即没有预谋或精心策划，但表示这并不能减轻伤害受害者的意图。

法官表示，虽然面包车以 30 公里/小时的恒定速度行驶，但这足以对受害者造成严重伤害，而且 Toh 事后也没有帮助他。

他认为 Toh 没有表现出任何悔意，也没有因为他配合当局而给予肯定。

他指出，杜某犯罪时已48岁半，如果他在50岁之前被判刑，可能会被处以鞭刑。

最初提出的指控是谋杀未遂，他对此表示否认。

“然而，在结案陈词阶段，当指控被修改为目前的指控时，他选择不认罪；相反，有人代表他提出申请，要求判他无罪，”马尼亚姆法官说。

因此，他判处六个月监禁，代替十二下鞭刑。这是十四年刑期的一部分。

使用危险武器或手段故意造成严重伤害者，可判处终身监禁，或处以最高 15 年监禁、鞭刑和罚款。

根据法律规定，由于 Toh 已年过五十，不能对他处以鞭刑。

他曾于 2025 年 3 月单独承认违反《海关法》的罪行，并因此被判处 32 个月监禁，目前已服刑完毕。

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