Yahya Bin Senari v Gao Lianjuan

• Jurisdiction: Singapore
• Judge: Lee Li Choon
• Judgment Date: 08 January 2018
• Neutral Citation: [2017] SGDC 333
• Court: District Court (Singapore)
• Docket Number: District Court Suit No. 3728 of 2014
• Published date: 24 April 2018
• Year: 2018
• Hearing Date: 12 September 2017,17 November 2017,04 July 2017
• Plaintiff Counsel: Kamala Dewi d/o Poologanathan (M/s Centro-Legal Law Corporation)
• Defendant Counsel: Tan Chee Kiong (M/s Seah Ong & Partners LLP)
• Subject Matter: Negligence,Motor Accident,Joint Tortfeasors
• Citation: [2017] SGDC 333

District Judge Lee Li Choon: Background

This is an action by the Plaintiff (P) against the Defendant (D) for loss and damages arising from a motor accident involving the P’s motor vehicle SKH1023E driven by P and D’s motor vehicle SKG4988M driven by D that took place on 22 July 2013 along Pioneer Road North. There are technically four vehicles that were involved in the incident that gave rise to the motor accident in question – P’s car, D’s car, a motorcycle bearing the registration number of FBG 4405D and an unknown lorry. There is no pending suit involving the motorcycle FBG 4405D. P and D are the only parties in this suit.

The case before me is only on the issue of liability – that is, whether D is liable to P for the damages suffered by P.

Non-Disputed Facts

It is not disputed that P’s car was travelling along the centre lane of Pioneer Road North at the material time just before the collision and D’s car was also travelling along the same road in the next lane to the right of P’s car. Pioneer Road North is a straight road. The fact that the collision between P’s car and D’s car was caused by D’s car swerving into the lane that P’s car was on is also not disputed.

P’s version

P’s version is that P was driving along the centre lane of Pioneer Road North towards the junction of Pioneer Road and International Road when D’s car which was travelling on the next lane to the right of the lane P’s car was on suddenly swerved into his path and collided onto his car. That collision caused P’s car to collide onto a motorcycle bearing the registration number of FBG4405D. P has suffered injuries and damage to his car as a result of the collisions.

D’s version

D’s version is that D was driving her car along the second right most lane of a 4-lane road along Pioneer Road North towards the junction of Pioneer Road North and International Road when an “unknown grey lorry” that was travelling on the next lane to the right of D’s car suddenly swerved onto her lane and collided onto her motor vehicle. D alleged that it was the impact of the unknown grey lorry with her car that caused her car to collide onto P’s vehicle.

D’s defence is that she was not negligent in driving her car and that it was the negligence of the driver of the unknown grey lorry that caused the collision between P’s car and her car. D pointed to the pattern of damage to her car (which has damage on both sides of the car and the damage on the right side of the car appears to be more severe than the damage to the left side of the car) as evidence that the...