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He braked abruptly on the Pan-Island Expressway (PIE) just to show both his middle fingers at a motorcyclist.Pang Chon Seng’s reckless act sparked a nine-ve-hicle pile-up that killed a motorcyclist in June last year.

On June 3 this year, the 52-year-old workshop manager was sentenced to four months’ jail for reckless driving.

He was also disqualified from driving for four years.

Pang was driving his black Toyota Wish on the day of the accident when, without warning, he abruptly swerved from lane to lane to harass mo-torcyclist Johann Johari Nazir.

Mr Johann, whose wife was riding pillion, felt Pang was driving too close to him and stopped his motorcycle at a road shoulder near Toh Guan Road.

ABRUPTPang then braked abruptly to make the rude ges-ture to Mr Johann. His action caused three chain collisions involving nine vehicles. (See infograph-ic on left.)

The driver of a prime mover directly behind Pang’s car jammed his brakes to avoid a collision.

Mr Lim Kok Aun, 48, whose lorry was behind the prime mover, also braked hard.

This caused his vehicle to veer to the right and spin onto the path of motorcyclist Liow Yong Seng, which was on the first lane

Mr Liow could not stop in time and his motorcy-cle collided with the lorry.

The impact was so great that the motorcy-cle broke into two and was flung across the ex-pressway.

Mr Liow was found dead under the lorry.Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) Rachel Lee

said Pang, who left the scene after the pile-up, had “deliberately chosen to persist in a continu-ous and prolonged dangerous manner of driv-

ing”, The Straits Times reported.Pang’s lawyer, Mr Louis Joseph, said his

client had gone after Mr Johann be-cause he thought he had seen some-

one on a motorcycle taking photo-graphs of him and wanted to get a closer look.

DPP Lee said investigations had found no evidence of these photographs and even if that had been the case, Pang’s reac-tion was still disproportionate.

For his part in Mr Liow’s death, lorry driver Lim was fined $7,000 and disqualified from driving for four years.

The prosecution argued that he had failed to keep a

safe distance from the prime mover or watch the road, hence contributing to the accident.

Reports by DEWEY SIMdeweysim@sph.com.sg

For close to a year, he thought his only son was responsible for the accident that took his life.When The New Paper told him that his son, a motorcyclist who was then 35, was an innocent victim of the crash, he was so shocked that he walked into the kitchen and broke down.

Mr Liow Chwee Hor, 69, said: “I feel extremely sad and hurt knowing that my son died for nothing.”

His son, Mr Liow Yong Seng, was the only fatal victim in a nine-vehicle pile-up on the Pan-Island Expressway (PIE) in June last year. It was caused by a mo-torist who braked abruptly to raise both his middle fingers at another motorcy-clist.

The driver, Pang Chon Seng, 52, was sentenced earlier this month to four months’ jail for reckless driving and dis-qualified from driving for four years. (See report on facing page.)

Almost a year after the tragedy, Mr Liow and his wife, Madam Soh Ah Hua, have yet to come to terms with their son’s death.

Mr Liow said he still sends text mes-sages to his son’s mobile number regu-larly in the hope that his son would be able to “read” them.

“I hope he will be able to read the heartfelt messages,” he said in an inter-view in Mandarin at their three-room

SMASHED: The impact was so great that Mr Liow Yong Seng’s motorcycle broke into two and was flung across the expressway.

PHOTOS: LIANHE ZAOBAO, THE STRAITS TIMES

flat at Hougang Avenue 5.As he scrolled through the messag-

es on his phone, Mr Liow tried to fight back his tears.

Recalling the accident, Mr Liow said he learnt about his son’s death the day after it happened.

His daughter was afraid that her el-derly parents would not be able to deal with the tragedy.

Mr Liow said he burst into tears when he heard the news.

He said: “We painstakingly brought our son up for 35 years but he was gone in just a second.”

He also spoke movingly of his son.

PAINFUL“It was especially painful losing him as he was very filial towards us. He respect-ed us and never once argued with us.”

Mr Liow said his son would take him for his eye treatment weekly despite his busy work schedule.

He declined to talk about his son’s job but said that he worked shifts.

The younger Mr Liow was planning to marry his fiancee next year and had reg-istered to buy a flat.

He had asked his parents to move in with him after the flat was ready but sadly, did not live to see his plans come to fruition.

Mr Liow said: “He was our everything and prepared our future for us. But now all is gone.”

He was furious when his son bought a

motorcycle as he had heard of the many road accidents involving motorcycles.

He said: “I knew it was very danger-ous.”

But his son assured him that he would be careful. And apart from some minor accidents, he proved it by riding safely for more than 10 years.

Eventually, Mr Liow grew to accept his son’s love for motorcycles.

Tearing, he said: “It has been a year. But I will always remember him until the moment I die.”

When his son was alive, he would hear the sound of the metal gate open-ing every afternoon when his son got home from work.

His son would often sit on the couch in the living room and play his video games.

But now he no longer gets to hear those familiar sounds.

Asked if he will forgive Pang for caus-ing the accident that took his son’s life, Mr Liow said it was pointless to hate.

“I can forgive him or hate him but it will never bring my son back to life.”

With a heavy heart, Mr Liow advises young motorcyclists to be careful when on the roads.

“Every parent will feel the same if their child gets into an accident. And it is a kind of pain no parent will want to go through,” he said.

He braked just to make rude gesture

JAILED: Pang Chon Seng was sentenced to four months’ jail and banned from driving for four years.

by theNUmBeRs

Pang Chon Seng abruptly stops his Toyota Wish on Lane 3 of the PIE to show both his middle fingers at a motorcyclist who has stopped on the road shoulder.

WHAT HAPPeNeD

TNP INFOGRAPHICS: KELVIN CHAN & TEOH YI CHIE

A prime mover behind Pang’s car manages to brake in time, but a lorry behind it veers to Lane 1 to avoid a collision.

The lorry spins until it comes to a stop and faces oncoming traffic.

Mr Liow Yong Seng, who is riding his motorcycle on Lane 1, is unable to stop in time. His motorcycle collides with the lorry, killing him. His bike splits into two and is flung across the expressway to Lane 4.

Two cars behind Mr Liow’s bike on Lane 1 manage to slow down.

A motorcyclist on Lane 2 loses his balance and falls off his bike.

Two cars on Lane 2 stop in time. We pains-

takingly brought our son up for 35 years but he was gone in just a second.— Mr Liow Chwee Hor

But a third car slams into the second, causing it to hit the first.

But a third car slams into the second car, causing it to hit the first.

my son died for

Father of motorcyclist who died in

nine-vehicle pile-up caused by motorist’s

reckless act says:

Number of reckless driving cases

LAsT YeAR

230 2013

351This dip in numbers spells hope for road safety in Singapore, as reckless driving is one of the main causes of accidents in Singapore, Mr Gopinath Menon, 70, a road safety expert, told The New Paper.

Number of cases related to road bullying, or road rage

LAsT YeAR

68 2013

90Mr Gopinath said road rage incidents were dangerous and could lead to accidents if motorists were out of control. “Motorists should follow the rules of the road. This would mean safer roads for everyone.”

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Tuesday, June 16 2015 THENEWPAPER THENEWPAPER Tuesday, June 16 2015

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