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

A driver who played “blocking and braking games” with a motorcycle and went at speeds of up to 160kmh on an expressway showed no remorse despite causing the death of an 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 had 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 an NUS student 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 Mr 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 term 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 in Sembawang for supper before driving around separately in Tee’s and Mr Loh’s cars.

Some time during the night, Ms Lim and her boyfriend, 16, met the group.

At one point, one of the 16-year-old girls and Ms Lim’s boyfriend ended up with Tee in his rented Mercedes-Benz car, while Mr Tan rode his motorcycle with Ms Lim riding pillion. The two vehicles travelled along the ECP to meet Mr Loh and the other 16-year-old girl at East Coast Park.

On their way there, Tee and Mr Tan raced each other, 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, said the DPP.

Tee then asked his passengers, “Do you want to see motorcycle fly?”. Ms Lim’s boyfriend pleaded against it.

When Tee saw that the motorcycle was 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 5m to 8m away.

Before the police or the 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 Mr Loh, who asked if he was afraid following the incident.

Tee replied, “Why scared”, and said: “Who ask her to piss 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.

In mitigation, defence lawyer Pang Khin Wee said his client was genuinely remorseful, adding: “It is worth noting that Jarrett was but a mischievous, impressionable and sorely misguided young man at the time of the accident who did not know how to distinguish good influence from bad.”

Mr Pang said his client was “hard-mouthed and boorish”, but despite talking “macho” after the collision, he did not intend to hurt Mr Tan and Ms Lim.

“In truth, Jarrett was just a scared and remorseful man trying to avoid admitting to his friends that he had made a huge mistake. Jarrett’s macho words were simply his way of masking and avoiding seeming weak to his friends, even though he knew he was in trouble,” said the lawyer.

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.

Source: The Straits Times © SPH Media Limited. Permission required for reproduction.

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