Cabby stepped on accelerator instead of brake, killed 75-year-old security officer sitting behind counter outside hotel
Nadine Chua
The Straits Times
June 6, 2025
A taxi driver who mistakenly stepped on the accelerator, instead of braking, crashed his car into a 75-year-old security officer who was sitting behind a counter.
One of the officer's legs was completely severed and the other partially severed in the crash.
She was pronounced dead after being rushed to hospital.
On June 6, Rahmad Mohamed Daud, 68, pleaded guilty to one charge of driving without due care and attention, causing death.
He was sentenced to eight months' jail.
He will be disqualified from driving for eight years from the date of his release.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Emily Koh said the incident happened on Jan 6, 2024, at around 5.30pm.
Rahmad was driving in Robertson Quay, on his way to pick up a passenger at a hotel.
He drove into a roundabout driveway and wanted to make a right turn to exit the hotel grounds.
There was a right-turn arrow and a stop line at the gantry exit of the hotel, which was barricaded.
Rahmad intended to step on the brake pedal but stepped on the accelerator instead, causing the vehicle to surge forward.
The car broke the gantry barricade and hit a wooden partition and the wall behind it, shattering the glass of a control panel on the wall.
After the collision, he alighted and saw a pool of blood in front of the taxi.
A witness who was nearby said he heard a woman's voice screaming "Pain! Help me!" and saw the security officer trapped between the taxi and the wall at the opposite end of the driveway.
The security officer was taken to Singapore General Hospital, where she died.
Those convicted of driving without due care and attention, causing death, can be jailed for up to three years, fined up to $10,000, or both.
