Jail for drunk taxi driver who fell asleep at wheel, fled after collision on SLE

SINGAPORE: A taxi driver was drink-driving along Seletar Expressway (SLE) in 2020 when he fell asleep at the wheel, suddenly swerved and collided with a car.

He eventually fled the scene after insisting he had not hit any car, despite another driver pointing out the damage to his own taxi.

Lim Chee Yong, 45, was on Friday (Mar 25) jailed 12 weeks, disqualified from driving for four years and fined S$800.

He had earlier pleaded guilty to dangerous driving causing hurt and failing to render help to the victim.

District Judge Carol Ling said it was fortuitous that the harm caused to the other driver was low.

The victim suffered strains along his neck, upper back, left shoulder and wrists as well as a knee contusion, and was placed on five days of medical leave.

However, the damage to the victim's vehicle was high, with repairs costing more than S$17,000.

The accident took place while Lim was driving his taxi home on the SLE towards the Central Expressway at about 11.40pm on Apr 6, 2020.

At the time, he had not switched on the headlights and taillights of his taxi and was driving above the speed limit, at 94kmh, according to court documents.

While driving, Lim fell asleep at the wheel and suddenly swerved left into the path of the victim's car. The taxi collided forcefully with the rear right end of the car.

The victim's car spun and hit the centre divider of the expressway before skidding back across all three lanes. It came to a stop at the left road shoulder, facing against the flow of traffic.

Instead of stopping, Lim continued to drive away from the accident location. A witness who was driving behind both vehicles saw this and pursued Lim in his car.

The witness managed to force Lim to a stop by cutting into his lane. He told Lim that he had hit a car and asked him if he was trying to run away.

Lim, who seemed to be in a daze, claimed that he had not hit any car. He appeared to be drunk and reeked of alcohol.

The witness asked Lim to switch off the engine and exit his taxi, and showed him the damage to the taxi's front bumper.

The two then walked along the expressway shoulder to the victim's car. The witness pointed out the car to Lim and asked him to help the victim. But Lim continued insisting he had not hit any car.

They eventually walked back to their own vehicles and the witness started to call the police.

While he was doing so, Lim got into his car and quickly drove away, with his headlights and taillights still switched off. The witness was unable to stop him.

Video footage of the accident was captured on the witness' in-vehicle camera. Another witness also called the police after seeing Lim drive his damaged taxi into a car park.

In sentencing, Judge Ling noted that Lim's sentence was liable for enhancement due to his earlier driving offences.

He has five previous convictions for speeding and driving while under a disqualification, with the most recent offence in 2013.