JUDGMENT

Choor Singh:

This appeal arises from a claim for damages for personal injuries sustained by the respondent and said to have been caused by the negligence of the appellant in the driving of a motor vehicle along New Changi Road, Singapore on 23 April 1970. The trial of the action resulted in judgment being given for the respondent on 23 September 1971 in the sum of $76,624 and costs. The appellant now appeals against the said judgment. The appeal is a limited one and is only against the trial Judge's finding that there was no contributory negligence on the part of the respondent.

The facts according to the respondent's version which was accepted by the learned Chief Justice who tried this action are these. The respondent, a young man not yet 21 at the date of the accident, was riding a motor scooter along New Changi Road towards the city. He was following a Morris Minor van driven by the appellant. Just before the accident the respondent was travelling at 30 miles per hour and was about 30 feet behind the appellant's van when the appellant suddenly pulled up. The respondent applied his brakes and took evasive action by swerving to the right but without success. His scooter