SINGAPORE - Five motorists, including a 31-year-old man who ran a red light and collided with two elderly pedestrians, were charged in court on Wednesday with various traffic offences.

The police said on Tuesday that these men, aged between 31 and 60, had failed to keep a proper lookout or stop at signalised pedestrian crossings, causing other road users to suffer serious injuries.

In the first case, the court heard that Uddin Helal, 31, was driving a van when he ran a red light at a pedestrian crossing near the junction of Rowell Road and collided with two elderly pedestrians who were crossing the road.

It was not mentioned in court how old the victims were and what injuries they suffered.

Uddin was charged with dangerous driving causing hurt, and he is expected to plead guilty in October.

In another case involving an elderly victim, Lee Hwee Choon, 60, was driving a van when he failed to exercise care as he made a left turn along Defu Lane 12 and hit a 72-year-old female cyclist.

The accident, which happened in January, caused grievous hurt to the elderly woman. Details of her injuries were not mentioned in court documents.

Lee was fined $3,000 and disqualified from driving for five years on Wednesday for driving without reasonable consideration causing grievous hurt.

In the third case, Mohamed Nizam Mohamed Rani, 50, a driver, was charged with one count of driving without reasonable consideration causing grievous hurt after he collided with a taxi which had the right of way.

Mohamed Nizam was driving his car along Central Exchange Green towards One North Crescent in March when he failed to keep a proper lookout at the junction of Portsdown Road and did not stop at the stop line.

He collided with the taxi, causing it to spin before coming to a stop. The 50-year-old taxi driver suffered a rib fracture.

Mohamed Nizam’s case will be heard again in September. This is not his first traffic offence. He was previously charged with inconsiderate driving in 2002.

In another case in March, Lee How Zhen, 45, was driving along the Kallang-Paya Lebar Expressway (KPE) when he switched lanes without exercising care, thus colliding with a motorcycle that was travelling straight.

He pleaded guilty to driving without reasonable consideration causing grievous hurt on Wednesday. He was fined $2,300 and disqualified from driving for 15 months.

The fifth and last case happened in August 2022. The court heard that Xie Hongcheng, 36, was making a discretionary right turn at a cross junction in Tampines when he collided with a pedestrian crossing the road while the green man was blinking in her favour.

The victim suffered grievous hurt, but details of her injuries were not stated in court documents. Xie’s case will be heard again in September.

The offence of driving without due care or reasonable consideration causing grievous hurt carries a penalty of a fine of up to $5,000, an imprisonment term of up to two years, or both. Those convicted of dangerous driving causing hurt may be fined up to $10,000, jailed for up to two years, or both.

Motorists convicted of these offences may also face disqualification from driving.

The Traffic Police said in its annual report in February that the number of people injured in traffic accidents has increased, from 7,240 in 2021 to 8,252 in 2022.

In 2022, 23 elderly pedestrians died in traffic accidents, a jump from 15 in 2021.

The number of seniors aged 60 and above injured in pedestrian-related accidents also increased, from 193 in 2021 to 213 in 2022.

Accidents caused by the running of red lights fell, from 136 cases in 2021 to 132 in 2022.