Online car forums abuzz about recent fatal crash
By Mavis Toh
He was said to have had the sports car for all of 1-1/2 months before he wrecked it.
The car, a high-performance Mitsubishi Evo 9, was believed to be his third. The accident cost someone his life.
On July 5 at 2.35am, cabby Mohammed Faizal Sumawi, 35, died when his taxi collided with the Evo at the junction of Somerset, Penang and Killiney roads.
The driver and his female passenger, both in their 20s, were taken to the Singapore General Hospital. He was later arrested for causing death by dangerous driving and is now out on bail.
The accident sparked outrage on several online car forums, which are abuzz with talk of how another young man behind souped-up wheels has run into trouble.
His two previous cars were also said to have been involved in accidents.
Many compared the recent fatal crash with the case of a 24-year-old warehouse supervisor who caused the death of a saleswoman while test-driving a Mazda sports car in 2005.
He was handed a seven-month jail term last year and banned from driving for 10 years. Before he was sentenced, he had posted queries on forums, seeking opinions on which sports car to buy.
Entries on the car forums claimed that the young man involved in the July 5 accident was a member of Evo East Gang, a car racing group.
A car agent who said she sold the man the Evo in mid-May told The Sunday Times that her client was about to start his national service.
The agent, who declined to be named, added that the car was registered under the name of the man's uncle.
The uncle had apparently told the agent that it was his nephew's third car.
'The boy... said that he was a good driver,' said the dealer. 'He insisted on getting the car.'
Many in the forums expressed sympathy towards Mr Faizal's family.
The eldest of three siblings, Mr Faizal, a bachelor, started driving a cab part-time just five months ago. He had a full-time job as a technical officer.
His sister, Ms Siti Sumawi, 30, a bank assistant, said her brother drove only on weekend nights. He wanted to help lighten the cab rental load on a colleague's father.
The family has had no information from the police on the Evo driver so far.
Said Mr Faizal's mother, Madam Nordina, 59: 'We want to know what happened that night.'