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Above: File picture of theaccident scene at Upper Paya Lebar Road in 2005. Pictured inset is Ms He Xueli, a 22-year-old car sales agent who died when her customer, Mr Regan Lee,lost control of the new Mazda MX-5 he was test-driving.

AN ENFORCEMENT loophole in the Road Traffic Act has been closed up following the Parliament's sitting on Wednesday.

A driver now faces the immediate suspension of his driving licence if he has caused serious injury or death, or serious damage to buildings and structures, once police investigations commence.

The amendment addresses the loopholethat a motorist can continue to shop for a car even though he may have caused a serious road accident or a death, as in the case of Regan Lee Da Wen in 2005.

Currently a motorist's driving licencecan only be suspended after he is formally charged in court for serious offences such as dangerous driving, where death or serious injury is caused.

In Lee's case, because the investigation was complex, 18 months passed before he was charged in court.

Regan Lee Da Wen pleaded guilty to causing the death of Miss Angela He Xueli, 22.

During this period, members of the public raised concerns that Lee could continue to buy cars and drive on the roads to the detriment of public safety.

Lee was test-driving a Mazda MX-5 when he lost control of the high-performance sports car and got into a high-speed three car accident.

According to a Straits Times report, the car flew over the road divider, smashed head-on into a black BMW, flipped over it and crashed down into a van in the other lane.

While the then 24-year-old Lee escaped from the wreck almost unscathed, his passenger was not so lucky.

22-year-old sales agent He Xueli, seated beside him during the test drive, was killed.

The court eventually sentenced him to seven months imprisonment for reckless driving and disqualified him from driving for 10 years.

a1motor@sph.com.sg