Drink driver jailed over crash that killed Perth mother
The man who killed a WA mother and injured her two children in a car crash, while drunk and speeding, has been jailed for more than four years.
Malaysian man Teck Chai Lim had been drinking with workmates on January 8 last year before he made the decision to drive along Mirrabooka Avenue in Landsdale.
Lim clipped kerbs, hit a light pole and a guard rail as he swerved and struggled to maintain control of the vehicle before crashing into Philippa Haigh’s vehicle.
The court heard Lim’s rear bumper was half hanging off the vehicle and dragging along the road when he sped up to about 83km/h and crashed head-on into Haigh’s car.
The 27-year-old later died in hospital from her injuries.
Ms Haigh’s 10-year-old daughter Shavanah and 18-month-old son Kauri were also hurt in the crash.
“They now have to live through that for the rest of their life, that mum is not going to be there,” Ms Haigh’s mother Debi said, fighting back tears.
"Kauri always wants to kiss photos of mum and we just try to deal with everything every day."
On Friday the District Court of WA heard that Lim had drunk about six bottles of beer over a three-hour period after finishing work and had a blood alcohol reading of 0.104.
Lim’s lawyer told the court his client was extremely remorseful, which Judge Vicki Stewart accepted, noting jail time would be particularly hard because his young family lives in Malaysia.
Lim was jailed for four-and-a-half years, and it’s likely he’ll be deported to Malaysia once he’s served his sentence.
