Man who defied driving ban, used forged driving licence jailed
SINGAPORE: A 57-year-old man who was disqualified from driving not only ignored the ban, he went ahead to drive while intoxicated and produced a forged driving licence when he was approached by the police.
For the offences, Tan Siew Jing was on Tuesday (Jul 10) sentenced to 22 weeks' jail and a fine of S$1,000.
Tan was not supposed to be driving as he had been disqualified from doing so from Dec 12, 2014, to Dec 11, 2017. He had been sentenced in November 2014 for drink driving and for driving during the disqualification period. He also received six weeks' jail for those offences.
However, on Sep 25, 2017, Tan took the keys to his wife's car without her knowledge, as she knew he was banned from driving.
He drove for about an hour and went to a seafood restaurant at East Coast Park where he had dinner and alcoholic drinks, court documents said.
He left at about 9pm and drove to the East Coast Park service road near the National Sailing Centre and parked on the grass verge.
There, an officer with the Police Coast Guard spotted the vehicle while on patrol duty.
He saw Tan was outside the car and "reeking of alcohol". Tan gave the officer a forged driving licence with the name Tan Siew Yee, which was his brother's name.
He had obtained the forged driving licence from a man who acquired it from Malaysia and gave it to Tan last May.
Tan took a breathalyser test and failed it. He was then arrested and taken to the Bedok Police Division Headquarters, where he admitted that the licence was forged.
He also committed an offence of using a car without insurance coverage.
Deputy Public Prosecutor David Koh asked for a sentence of 22 weeks' jail, six years' disqualification from driving and a fine of S$1,000, a recommendation which District Judge Ng Peng Hong agreed with.
After his release from prison, Tan will be disqualified from holding or obtaining all classes of driving licences for six years.