SINGAPORE, Feb 12 – A woman who fell while climbing the stairs of a double-decker bus here has reportedly lost a civil negligence lawsuit against transport operator SBS Transit and the bus driver.
The Straits Times (ST) cited District Judge Samuel Wee ruling that the accident was not due to the driver’s negligence but rather the woman missing a step and losing her balance as the bus moved off from the stop.
In dismissing the case yesterday, the judge noted that while it was unfortunate she was injured, the evidence did not indicate fault on the part of the driver.
ST reported that the woman, Tran Thi Phuong Nga, was in her late 60s when she boarded the bus on February 17, 2020.
Carrying a bag of food in her right hand, she climbed the steps to the upper deck while holding the handrail with her left hand. As she reached the top, the bus moved off, and she fell.
In her lawsuit, filed in 2022, Nga alleged that the driver, Lui Nai Yu, had moved off before ensuring she was seated and that he was distracted by a conversation with another passenger.
She also claimed the bus had stopped or moved off suddenly, causing her fall.
Lui, represented by lawyer Willy Tay, denied any breach of duty. He argued that he was not required to wait for all passengers to be seated before moving off and that he had not made any sudden movements.
The court examined cases from Australian, English, and Scottish courts and found no general requirement for a bus driver to wait for all passengers to be seated before moving off.
However, he noted an exception for vulnerable passengers, which he ruled did not apply to Nga, as she had moved quickly and independently.
