SINGAPORE – A man involved in the 2019 Lucky Plaza crash that killed two women pleaded guilty to his offences on Friday (Sept 24) and was sentenced to two years and six months’ jail.
He has also been disqualified from driving all classes of vehicles for 10 years.
Chong Kim Hoe, now 66, was driving a car near the Orchard Road shopping mall when it ploughed into six Filipino women, killing two of them.
The other four were injured, three of them grievously.
In September last year, the Malaysian man was charged with three counts of dangerous driving.
Chong, who is also a Singapore permanent resident, had engaged the accelerator as he was making a U-turn on Nutmeg Road near the mall at around 5pm on Dec 29, 2019.
His car later hit the six women.
Ms Abigail Danao Leste, 41, and Ms Arlyn Picar Nucos, 50, died as a result of the accident.
Ms Egnal Layugan Limbauan and Ms Laila Flores Laudencia, both 44, and Ms Arceli Picar Nucos, 56, suffered grievous hurt.
Ms Demet Limbauan Limbauan, 37, was also injured.
Ms Arlyn Picar Nucos was Ms Arceli Picar Nucos’ sister. All six women worked as domestic helpers here.
The manager of a Lucky Plaza travel agency, Mr Daniel Mendoza, then 34, witnessed the aftermath.
He told The Straits Times in December 2019 that he was on a pavement near the shopping mall when the accident occurred.
He added: “Everyone was, of course, shocked and many were screaming ‘help, God, help, God’.”
Following the crash, more than $360,000 was raised for the victims in an online fund-raiser that closed on Jan 6 last year.
According to figures on fund-raising website Giving.sg, the Centre for Domestic Employees and the Domestic Employees Welfare Fund took about a week to raise the sum from nearly 3,000 donors.
The money is meant to help the four injured women and the dependants of the two dead women.