An Indian national was sentenced to two years and a month in jail and fined SGD2,000 on Friday by a Singapore court for killing a senior National University of Singapore (NUS) law professor in a road accident in 2023. On July 7, 2023, Natarajan Mohanraj (28), a construction worker while driving a lorry looked at his mobile phone and the vehicle hit a car driven by Emeritus Professor Tan Yock Lin (70).

The injured person was taken to a hospital, where he died later that day due to multiple injuries. According to a report by The Straits Times, Natarajan had a history of careless driving. The Traffic Police had issued him a notice in June 2023 to surrender his licence before July 25, but the accident occurred two weeks before the deadline. Despite the accident, Natarajan continued to drive another lorry on two separate occasions in 2024 after his licence was revoked. He had pleaded guilty to multiple charges, including causing death by driving without due care.

The court also barred him from driving for life, the Singapore daily said in its report. He was also prohibited from driving any motor vehicle in Singapore for life. "The lorry mounted the kerb of the centre divider, smashed through the green metal railings, and uprooted two trees before emerging onto the opposite (side) of the road, directly against the flow of oncoming traffic and in its path," Deputy Public Prosecutor Sunil Nair said.