Jail for driver who showed no remorse after causing teen’s death during ‘blocking and braking game’ on ECP

SINGAPORE: “She deserved it as she come and push my limit,” said a driver, after he caused the death of a female pillion rider in a racing game on the East Coast Parkway (ECP) that went awry.  

While driving along the expressway in February 2024, Jarrett Tee Lee Kiat engaged in “blocking and braking games” with a motorcyclist, clocking speeds of up to 160kmh. The 30-year-old deliberately swerved into the path of the motorcycle, forcing the rider to slow down. 

Tee, then a student at the National University of Singapore (NUS), also asked the passengers in his car, “Do you want to see motorcycle fly?”

The resulting collision between Tee’s car and the motorcycle caused its rider, 27-year-old Kovan Tan and pillion rider, 18-year-old Leann Lim Jia Le, to be flung off. Ms Lim, a student, subsequently died from her injuries. 

Tee was jailed for five years and eight months on Friday (Jun 27), after pleading guilty to one count of dangerous driving which caused the death of Ms Lim. He was also given a driving ban of 10 years. 

Another two counts of dangerous driving, one of which took into account the hurt caused to Mr Tan, were taken into consideration for his sentencing. 

The court heard that Tee was a full-time NUS student at the time, and also a part-time chef and social media influencer. 

He rented a Mercedes Benz car, which he drove at the time of the offences. 

ACCUSED RACED AGAINST OTHER VEHICLES

On the night of Feb 23, 2024, Tee contacted a man known as Vincent Loh to drive around aimlessly. 

Mr Loh agreed and picked up two 16-year-old girls in his car later that night. The three met Tee in Sembawang and had supper there. 

The group then cruised separately in Tee’s and Mr Loh’s car before agreeing to meet in East Coast Park as the final rendezvous point. 

Sometime during the night, Mr Loh picked up a 16-year-old male, who was also the boyfriend of Ms Lim. Ms Lim subsequently joined the group. 

While he was driving to different locations, Tee began to play “blocking and braking games” where he would swerve into the lane occupied by Mr Loh’s car and apply his brakes intermittently, forcing the other car to slow down. 

At one point, Tee ended up with a 16-year-old girl and Ms Lim’s boyfriend in his Mercedes Benz, while Mr Tan rode his motorcycle with Ms Lim as pillion.
 
The two vehicles travelled along the ECP in the direction of Changi Airport to reach East Coast Park.

While en route to the destination, Mr Tan and Tee started to race one another, with Tee speeding up to 160kmh as part of the “blocking and braking game”. 

Mr Tan rode to a slip road at an exit towards Marine Parade but decided to cut across the chevron marking to re-enter the ECP. 

He filtered out of the slip road, entering the third lane of the ECP with the intention of overtaking Tee’s car, which was also in the third lane. 

Meanwhile, Tee made a remark to his two passengers if they wanted to “see motorcycle fly”, to which Ms Lim’s boyfriend pleaded with him not to.

When Tee saw the motorcycle overtaking him, however, he immediately swerved his car to block it. 

His car swiped the motorcycle, causing both Mr Tan and Ms Lim to be thrown about five to eight metres away. Ms Lim was observed to be unresponsive as she lay on the floor. 

A driver who was behind both vehicles captured the incident on her car’s dashboard camera. Her recordings showed that Tee applied his brake with the motorcycle in close proximity four times within seconds. 

VICTIM FOUGHT FOR HER LIFE

Ms Lim was taken to the hospital at about 4.40am on Feb 24, 2024, with paramedics administering cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), but she remained pulseless. 

Resuscitative efforts were futile, with doctors assessing that there was significant brain injury with a poor prognosis that likely could not be reversed. 

He condition deteriorated and she died at 2.47pm on Feb 24, 2024. 

Mr Tan sustained abrasions and a laceration on his right hand. He was then warded for three days and given six days of hospitalisation leave. 

ACCUSED WAS “IN NO WAY REMORSEFUL”

Before the police or an ambulance arrived, Tee called Mr Loh to tell him that the “motorcycle had collided into him”. 

Later, in response to Mr Loh’s queries on how the collision happened, Tee claimed that the “motorcycle keep (taunting) him”, and kept revving its engine at him. He added that Ms Lim had pointed her middle finger at him, so he “played with the motorcycle”.

He admitted to Mr Loh that he made the lane change and engaged the neutral gear so that the rider would not be able to see his brake lights. 

According to court documents, Mr Loh told Tee he was “crazy” as he “played with (someone’s) life” and the latter responded “she deserved it as she come and push my limit”.

As he was having his statement recorded after the incident, Tee lied that the motorcycle had been tailgating and “high-beaming” him. 

He alleged that he changed lanes to give way, but that the motorcycle changed to the same lane and increased its speed, resulting in a collision. 

After Tee was released on bail on Feb 24, 2024, he again met Mr Loh, who asked him if he was “afraid” given what had happened. 

“The accused replied ‘why scared’, ‘Who ask her to pissed (sic) me off’ and ‘The accident caused her death is what she deserved’,” the prosecution said. 

That evening, Tee met Mr Loh and other friends for drinks at a hotel in Geylang. During this session, he told his friends that Ms Lim’s death was what “she deserved” for taunting him, and repeated that she had made a rude gesture at him. 

Asking for a jail term of 51 months to 68 months, the prosecution referred to victim impact statements from Ms Lim’s father and stepmother.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Paul Chia also highlighted Tee’s lack of remorse for causing Ms Lim’s death. 

“The accused’s behaviour in the immediate aftermath of the incident stands in stark contrast to the efforts made by (a witness), the SCDF (Singapore Civil Defence Force) officers and staff at CGH (Changi General Hospital) to save Leann’s life and the intense loss experienced by Leann’s family,” Mr Chia said.

“To put it mildly, the accused was in no way remorseful for his actions.”

Tee’s lawyer, Pang Khin Wee of IRB Law, painted his client as a “sorely misguided young man” who did not know to distinguish good influence from the bad. 

Noting that Tee’s parents divorced when he was a baby, Mr Pang said Tee was often alone as his father worked a lot. 

“Growing up in this manner made Jarrett hard-mouthed when speaking with his friends, but such harsh words seldom represent his true feelings,” said Mr Pang. 

During the incident, Tee was in a competitive mood and wanted to “appear macho” to his passengers, Mr Pang said. 

“To be clear, Jarrett never really intended for the motorcycle to collide into his car. He merely wanted to increase the perception of danger so he could appear to scare Kovan,” Mr Pang said. 

Tee immediately alighted after the incident to call an ambulance, but being the “hard-mouthed” and “boorish” man that he was, he continued to “talk macho”, the lawyer said. 

“However, Jarrett truly never intended to hurt Kovan and Leann. 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,” Mr Pang said. 

Mr Pang asked for a jail term of between 42 and 50 months, after factoring in a sentencing discount for his plea of guilt.

His client admits that he should not have played a racing game and regrets the accident, the lawyer added.