Singaporean driver who killed cyclist in Perth sentenced to over 5 years’ jail in Australia

SINGAPORE - A Singaporean has been sentenced to five years and nine months’ jail after running over a cyclist in Perth in 2024.

Ng Jing Kai, 29, who had earlier pleaded guilty to manslaughter in August, was handed the sentence on the morning of Nov 2 in the Supreme Court of Western Australia.

His sentence was backdated to when he was first arrested on May 24, 2024. He has been held in custody in Australia since.

On June 21, 2024, he was initially charged with murder before the charge was later reduced.

He was first charged in lower court, but media reports in 2024 said that he was later an inmate at the Hakea Prison, a maximum security facility in Canning Vale, Western Australia.

Ng arrived in Perth for a holiday with his family and friends on May 20, 2024.

He had planned to propose to his girlfriend during the trip, the court heard.

Ng, a former mathematics tutor, was driving a grey Kia Carnival in Carlisle, a suburb in Perth, when the incident happened at around 1.45pm on May 24, 2024.

The victim had stolen valuables, including an AirTag after breaking into the car a day earlier.

Ng and his family found the victim by tracking the AirTag, with Ng tailing him while he was on his e-bike.

Ng tailed the victim for about 10 minutes, while his girlfriend’s brother was on the phone updating the police.

The victim was later trapped under one of the car’s wheels after he fell and Ng accelerated his vehicle over the kerb.

Ng then continued to drive up to 25m, dragging the victim under the car for that distance.

Delivering Ng’s sentence, the judge said: “Using the car to pursue and confront (the victim) involved very poor decision making. The chase itself could easily have resulted in a serious accident. Trying to manoeuvre a large vehicle in close proximity to someone on an e-bike during a tense confrontation is also very dangerous.”

The judge noted that Ng is a person of prior good character, and that he had no criminal history in Western Australia or Singapore.

The Western Australia Police Force told The Straits Times in a previous interview that Ng had hit the cyclist with his car, “causing him to be dragged by the vehicle for a short distance, sustaining critical injuries”.

The cyclist, 48, was taken to Royal Perth Hospital, where he later died.

Police investigated the case as a possible property dispute, while Ng was accused of acting as a vigilante.

According to reports in Australia, Ng had accused the deceased of taking items from the car and refusing to return them.

Ng then chased down the cyclist and ran over him, before dragging his injured body for over 30m.