Two men, who were accused of killing a motorcyclist in a dangerous driving incident, were charged with culpable homicide not amounting to murder on Tuesday, October 28.
Rayson Loo Sian Hao, 30, and Cassidy Tan Ting Hwee, 33, were charged in connection with the incident that killed Mohammad Oszaimi Osman early on January 14 of last year.
At around two in the morning that day, the two Singaporeans were allegedly racing and passing one another on the Central Expressway as they headed towards the Seletar Expressway.
Loo is accused of driving as fast as 170 km/h, while Tan allegedly reached speeds of up to 192 km/h.
Mohammad Oszaimi was thrown onto the road after Tan allegedly swerved from lane four to lane two and struck his motorcycle.
Mohammad Oszaimi, 31, was allegedly killed when Loo ran him over.
In a statement, the police claimed that the two men were traveling at speeds significantly higher than the posted 90 km/h limit for the section of road they were on.
Their licenses were immediately suspended after they were taken into custody.
Tan Yong Ren, a 34-year-old Singaporean, was also charged in a different case with culpable homicide not amounting to murder for the December 2023 death of 45-year-old British national Basra Rajan Singh.
He allegedly crashed into Singh, who was riding a bicycle along Nicoll Highway towards Guillemard Road, after driving his car recklessly after drinking.
These charges are unusual because, under the Road Traffic Act, drivers who are accused of causing fatal accidents are typically charged with dangerous driving causing death rather than culpable homicide not amounting to murder, as defined by the Penal Code.
The former charge was first brought against Tan Yong Ren, but it has since been upgraded.
The penalty for culpable homicide that does not qualify as murder is up to 20 years in prison if there was an intent to cause death, and up to 15 years if there was no such intent. Fines or caning may also follow.
In contrast, a basic case of reckless driving that results in death carries a maximum sentence of eight years in prison. The offender may receive longer jail sentences if they are a repeat offender or a "serious offender" as defined by the law.
In order to allow for additional mentions, the cases were postponed.
