SMRT Trains COO Alvin Kek jailed 2 weeks for second drink driving offence

SINGAPORE: SMRT Trains chief operations officer Alvin Kek Yoke Boon has been sentenced to two weeks' jail and a fine of S$4,000 for drink driving, two months after he was arrested at Woodlands Checkpoint.

In his sentencing on Monday (Jun 25), he was also disqualified from holding or obtaining all classes of driving licences for three years after his release from prison.

According to court documents, Kek, 51, was having drinks with his colleagues at the Temasek Club at Rifle Range Road at about 11pm on April 20.

Kek, who had consumed four mugs of Tiger beer, said he had the drinks as his father had recently passed away.

He left Temasek Club at about 2.30am and drove in the direction of Woodlands, ending up at Woodlands Checkpoint at 2.55am on April 21. 

He told an Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) officer there that he had entered the checkpoint by mistake and had no intention of leaving Singapore.

The ICA officer suspected that he had been drinking as he "reeked of alcohol" and instructed him to alight from the car before escorting him to an office for a breath test.

He was found to have 65 micrograms of alcohol per 100ml of breath, nearly double the limit of 35 micrograms, and was arrested.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Teo Lu Jia called for at least two weeks' jail and a fine of S$4,000, saying that Kek was a repeat drink driver. Kek had previously been convicted of another drink driving offence in 2004.

Ms Teo also noted that Kek had several other previous driving-related offences, including using his mobile phone while driving in 2015 and failing to conform to a red-light signal in 1999.

In a statement to Channel NewsAsia on Thursday, Kek said: "I deeply regret the incident and would like to assure everyone that I will not drink and drive again.”

SMRT's vice-president of corporate communications Margaret Teo told Channel NewsAsia that SMRT "has noted the court's decision".

"Alvin has been suspended from work," she said.

The penalties for drink driving are a jail term of up to six months and a fine of between S$1,000 and S$5,000 for the first offence.

Repeat offenders can be jailed for up to 12 months and fined between S$3,000 and S$10,000.