Driver in Tampines fatal chain collision to plead guilty on 23 October
A 44-year-old driver involved in a 2024 Tampines chain collision that killed two and injured several others is expected to plead guilty on 23 October. The man, Muhammad Syafie Ismail, faces multiple charges under the Road Traffic Act, including dangerous driving causing death and hurt.
- Driver Muhammad Syafie Ismail, 44, will plead guilty on 23 October over a 2024 Tampines crash that killed two and injured several others.
- He faces five charges under the Road Traffic Act, including dangerous driving causing death and hurt.
- The incident led to multiple collisions involving several vehicles, with both criminal and civil cases pending.
A driver involved in a major chain collision in Tampines that killed two people and injured several others is expected to plead guilty on 23 October.
Muhammad Syafie Ismail, 44, had his plea date fixed following a pre-trial conference on 31 July, after several earlier proceedings.
Syafie faces five charges under the Road Traffic Act stemming from the incident, which occurred on 22 April 2024, at the junction of Tampines Avenue 1 and Tampines Avenue 4.
The charges comprise dangerous driving causing death, dangerous driving causing hurt, dangerous driving causing grievous hurt, and failing to stop after an accident.
According to court documents, Syafie was allegedly driving recklessly along Bedok Reservoir Road towards Tampines Avenue 4 shortly after 7am when the sequence of collisions began.
He is said to have made an abrupt lane change to overtake another vehicle, resulting in a sideswipe collision that caused a nearby car to veer left and scrape its tyres against the kerb.
Syafie allegedly failed to stop to provide his particulars and then ran a red light, crashing into three cars and triggering a multi-vehicle collision that eventually involved a van and a minibus.
Two people were killed in the incident — 17-year-old Temasek Junior College student Afifah Munirah Muhammad Azril and 57-year-old van passenger Norzihan Juwahib, an employee of a pest control company.
Several others sustained injuries, including an 11-year-old boy who was in one of the cars and another boy who was on the minibus.
Syafie was initially charged on 25 April 2024 with four offences, including dangerous driving causing death and dangerous driving causing hurt.
On 9 June 2025, prosecutors added an additional charge of dangerous driving causing grievous hurt to two motorists — van driver Chia Tong Chai, 65, and car driver Muhammad Azril Mahmood, 49.
Court records indicate that Syafie is represented by lawyers from Regent Law.
If convicted of dangerous driving causing death, Syafie faces a jail term of between two and eight years and disqualification from driving all classes of vehicles.
For dangerous driving causing hurt, the penalty may include a fine of up to S$10,000 (US$7,700), imprisonment of up to two years, or both.
The offence of dangerous driving carries a maximum fine of S$5,000, up to 12 months’ jail, or both.
Failing to stop after an accident is punishable by a fine of up to S$1,000, a jail term of up to three months, or both.
In addition to the criminal proceedings, Syafie is also facing two separate civil suits for negligence arising from motor accidents.
