Jail for man who drove for half hour with lover's husband clinging onto car windscreen

SINGAPORE: A man who drove around for half an hour with his lover’s husband clinging onto the windscreen of his car was on Wednesday (Oct 2) sentenced to 11 weeks' jail and banned from driving for two years.

The court heard that Desmond Koh Wee Boon, 34, was at Fragrance Hotel Kovan in Upper Serangoon Road with his married lover at about 3.10am on Apr 28 last year when he was confronted by the woman’s husband.

The 27-year-old victim, who was not named in court documents, had long suspected his wife of having an affair, said Deputy Public Prosecutor David Lee.

Along with a friend of his, the victim followed the woman to the hotel. The victim waited in the back alley, while his friend waited in a car at the front of the hotel.

After waiting for about one to two hours, the victim saw his wife and Koh entering a car parked along Sireh Place.

The victim approached the car and started banging on the windscreen and the driver's window, asking his wife and Koh to get out of the vehicle.

Instead of doing so, Koh decided to drive off, with the man clinging onto the driver's door.

The man shouted for Koh to stop the car, but he continued driving for about 40m down Sireh Place before turning left onto another road.

The turn flung the victim off the car and onto the road.

VICTIM FLUNG OFF CAR, CLIMBS BACK UP AND CLINGS TO BONNET

When Koh's car stopped behind another vehicle, the victim caught up and clambered onto the bonnet of Koh's car.

With the man clung onto the windscreen, Koh again drove off, travelling about 250m to the Singtel building along Upper Serangoon Road, said the prosecutor.

At the building, the victim's wife alighted from the vehicle and tried to persuade her husband to get off, but he refused.

Koh continued to drive with the victim clinging onto his windscreen, going through roads including Upper Serangoon Road, Upper Paya Lebar Road, Hougang Avenue 3 and Defu Lane 10.

Along the way, a Grab driver and his passenger spotted the victim on Koh's car. The victim shouted for them to call the police, and the passenger did so.

Koh drove the vehicle into a housing estate in Serangoon and the Grab driver and his passenger followed for a distance before leaving.

They observed that Koh had turned the car at high speed and braked intermittently in several attempts to throw the victim off. Koh had also beaten several red lights.

WOMAN ASKS LOVER IF HE IS ALRIGHT, HUSBAND REACTS

The police located and stopped Koh along Serangoon Avenue 3 at about 3.40am and interviewed him.

The victim's wife and his friend arrived at the location shortly after, and the woman asked her lover if he was alright.

When her husband heard this, he shouted why "she did not care for him first" and was held back by police officers.

Both men were arrested.

The victim, who was eventually released without any charges, had fainted from hyperventilation while being detained by police and was taken to hospital.

In total, Koh drove at least 7km and at speeds of up to 70kmh with the man clinging onto his windscreen.

He pleaded guilty to one charge of a rash act to endanger human life, with a second charge taken into consideration.

ACCUSED HAD COMMITTED PRIOR ROAD TRAFFIC OFFENCES

The prosecution on Wednesday said they accepted that the victim was the aggressor in this case, as argued by defence lawyer Peter Keith Fernando.

The prosecutor said Koh had committed other road traffic offences before, and had also previously been convicted of voluntarily causing hurt.

The fact that he had braked intermittently with the victim on the bonnet "demonstrates the accused's lack of concern for the well-being of the victim", he said.

"During the 7km, the accused had all the opportunity to stop the vehicle, but he did not do so," added the prosecutor.

District Judge Christopher Goh said it was reckless for a person to drive with someone clinging onto the bonnet.

Koh had driven quite a long distance and the intermittent braking "added to the danger" even if he was "overwhelmed by fear" at the time, said the judge.

"He could have stopped the vehicle at any time," the judge said. "The mitigating factors are not exceptional in this case."

The judge granted Koh a deferment of his sentence to Oct 14.

For committing a rash act to endanger human life, Koh could have been jailed for up to six months, fined a maximum S$2,500, or both.