SINGAPORE, June 5 — With the keys to his father’s taxi in hand, 15-year-old Sean Chan Wei Lun snuck out of the house after midnight last year to take two friends for a joyride.

But with no knowledge of how to operate the vehicle, he lost control of the taxi and it slammed into a building which left his friends injured. The legal age for driving in Singapore is 18.

Today, the State Courts sentenced Sean to 18 months’ probation after he pleaded guilty on April 6 to charges of underage driving, driving while uninsured and committing a rash act that endangered the safety of one of his friends. 

Sean, who is now 16, will be required to remain indoors from 10pm to 6am for the duration of his probation, perform 100 hours of community service, be placed on an electronic monitoring scheme and undergo psychological or psychiatric treatment.

One charge of driving without the consent of the vehicle’s owner and another for causing hurt through a rash act were taken into consideration for Sean’s sentencing.

Although Sean’s father did not appear in court on Friday, both his mother and elder sister agreed to post a bond of S$5,000 for his good behaviour.

What happened

Court documents stated that Sean left the house with his father’s keys around 12.20am on Oct 23 last year without the latter’s knowledge or consent.

While it was not stated if he drove to pick up his friends, a 15-year-old and a 14-year-old, the documents said Sean lost control of the taxi when he tried to execute a left turn at the junction of Riverside Road and Marsiling Industrial Estate Road 8.

The taxi mounted a kerb, uprooted a stop sign before it came to a stop after slamming into the wall of a nearby building.

Sean’s friends, seated in the rear seat of the taxi, sustained various injuries as a result of the collision. It was not mentioned if they had their seat belts on.

The 15-year-old received a laceration on his lip and abrasions on his chest, while the 14-year-old similarly lacerated his lip and sustained abrasions on his right forearm. He also dislocated his foot.

The front portion of the taxi was ripped off while both left tyres were punctured.

According to the documents, the weather was clear, the road surface was dry, the traffic flow was moderate and visibility clear on the night of the accident.

During Sean’s sentencing, District Judge May Mesenas noted the absence of Sean’s father and was told he could not attend due to health-related issues.

However, she said she was aware that Sean’s relationship with his father had deteriorated since the accident.

District Judge Mesenas told Sean, who is now an Institute of Technical Education student, that he should use the probation period to mend his relationship with his father. — TODAY