Cleaning company driver admits to causing death of elderly colleague by driving off when she was alighting

Cleaning company driver admits to causing death of elderly colleague by driving off when she was alighting The 72-year-old victim's death was tragic and avoidable, the prosecution said. SINGAPORE: While dropping his colleagues off after their morning cleaning shift, a minibus driver thought all his passengers had alighted and drove off with the rear door still open. But one of his colleagues, a 72-year-old woman, was still alighting from the vehicle. She fell and hit her head, dying from her injuries hours later in the hospital. Ang Oon Leng, 61, pleaded guilty on Friday (Jun 19) to causing the woman’s death with his negligence. Ang worked for IS Service System and was responsible for ferrying colleagues who worked as cleaners for the same company at the start and end of their shifts. The woman who died worked the morning shift on Mar 5, 2025 and got on the minibus driven by Ang after work. After stopping to drop his passengers off at the Hillion Mall taxi stand, he saw two of his four passengers walk past the front of the minibus. He glanced briefly at the rear-view mirror and saw no one in the rear passenger seats. Without looking at the rear passenger door, he drove off with the door still open. Since his colleague was still alighting from the minibus, the movement caused her to fall and sustain head injuries, including a skull fracture, the court heard, as CCTV videos of the incident played on screen. In the videos, the victim was the last passenger to get off the minibus and she was stepping off the vehicle when it moved off. After she fell down, another colleague who alighted from the minibus before her rushed towards the victim, who was lying on the floor. Deputy Public Prosecutor Thaddeus Tan asked for eight to 12 weeks’ jail for Ang, as well as for his driving licence to be disqualified for five years. Acknowledging that this was a stiff sentence, he argued that this was a just, appropriate and commensurate punishment for the severe harm caused to the victim and her family. The elderly woman’s death was tragic and avoidable, said Mr Tan, adding that she would likely have been alive today if Ang had exercised caution. He also highlighted Ang’s negligence – the 61-year-old had been working in that role for several months. “He would’ve known by that time that there were elderly passengers that he was ferrying, that these passengers would need more time to get up and get down from the vehicle. This would have increased the standard of care expected of him,” Mr Tan argued. Driving off with the back door still open showed a “severe lack of care” and breached traffic regulations, said the prosecution. “These rules are there for a reason … to ensure that the safety of all the passengers is ensured before the vehicle is operated.” Ang, who was unrepresented, said in his mitigation plea that he currently lives alone and works as a cleaner. He told the court that he has no means to pay any compensation to the victim’s family and asked for a lighter sentence. “A conviction would likely cause me to lose my job and it would be difficult for me to find another job at this age. Even if I do find one, the salary would not be high, and I really do not have any means to make any form of compensation,” he said through the court interpreter. While the victim’s son has submitted a request for S$14,000 in compensation as a representative of his deceased mother, the prosecution is not seeking a compensation order in Ang’s sentence, said Mr Tan. Ang will return to court on Jul 7 to be sentenced.