LING ZHAO BIN v PUBLIC PROSECUTOR

[2026] SGHC 107 High Court (General Division) 18 May 2026 • HC/MA 9161/2025/01 • 26 min read
13 cases cited (12 SG, 1 foreign)

Catchwords

Practice Areas

Judges (1)

Counsel (5)

Parties (2)

Case Significance

In Ling Zhao Bin v Public Prosecutor [2026] SGHC 107, Judicial Commissioner of Appeal Kannan Ramesh dismissed the appellant's Magistrate's Appeal against sentence on 20 March 2026 and issued full grounds on 18 May 2026. Ling Zhao Bin had pleaded guilty to careless driving causing grievous hurt under s 65(1)(b) of the Road Traffic Act 1961 arising from an incident on Keppel Road near Traffic Light pole 5 on 16 April 2024 at about 8.35am. The District Court had imposed two weeks' imprisonment and a five-year disqualification from all driving licence classes, and the High Court upheld the imprisonment term, examining the sentencing framework for careless driving causing grievous hurt.

Summary

Ling Zhao Bin appealed against a sentence of two weeks' imprisonment imposed after he pleaded guilty to careless driving causing grievous hurt under s 65(1)(b) of the Road Traffic Act 1961, following a lane-change collision on Keppel Road that caused a motorcyclist to suffer a tibial plateau fracture and ACL injury requiring surgery. The appellant argued the sentence was manifestly excessive and sought to rely on a comparable case involving a less deliberate lane change. The appeal was dismissed, with the court finding the appellant's deliberate lane change without keeping a proper lookout and the severity of the victim's injuries justified the sentence.

Was Ling Zhao Bin's appeal against his two-week imprisonment sentence for careless driving successful?

No. Judicial Commissioner of Appeal Kannan Ramesh dismissed Ling Zhao Bin's appeal in [2026] SGHC 107, upholding the two weeks' imprisonment and five-year driving disqualification imposed for careless driving causing grievous hurt on Keppel Road on 16 April 2024 under s 65(1)(b) of the Road Traffic Act 1961.

Statutes Cited

Cases Cited (13)

SG (5)
[2023] SGDC 102 [2024] SGDC 230 [2024] SGHC 258 [2025] SGDC 282 [2026] SGHC 59
SLR (7)
[2010] 1 SLR 874 [2014] 4 SLR 661 [2016] 3 SLR 1079 [2017] 4 SLR 1072 [2018] 5 SLR 1153 [2023] 3 SLR 440 [2025] 3 SLR 509
UK (1)
[1975] 3 All ER 446

Judgment

Read the full judgment on the official Singapore Courts portal.

Read on eLitigation

Source: eLitigation ([2026] SGHC 107)