Jail, fine for drink driver who passed out then crashed into SCDF motorcycle, drove against traffic

SINGAPORE — A member of the public saw a car lying stationary on a slip road — its driver and his passenger both appearing unresponsive — and called the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF).

But when the SCDF arrived and managed to rouse the driver, he drove off, forcing the informant to jump out of the way, and then crashed into an SCDF officer's motorcycle.

The man, 30-year-old Leon Lim, then mounted the curb and came to a stop again, before continuing to drive against the flow of traffic until he mounted another curb and hit a tree.

In court on Tuesday (June 4), Lim pleaded guilty to one charge of dangerous driving and one charge of drink driving, and was sentenced to six weeks’ jail and a fine of S$6,000. 

He was also disqualified from driving all classes of vehicles for three years. 

One charge of leaving his vehicle in a position likely to cause danger, obstruction or undue inconvenience was taken into consideration for sentencing.

WHAT HAPPENED 

On the evening of Aug 11, 2022, Lim went to a restaurant and shared two bottles of soju, a Korean spirit, with a female friend. After that, they left in his car.

Shortly after midnight, Lim lost consciousness as he was driving. Lim's friend, sitting in the front passenger seat, also passed out.

The car came to a stop in the right-most lane of the slip road on North Buona Vista Road towards the Ayer Rajah Expressway.

It remained in that position for close to half an hour.

Someone saw them and called the SCDF, saying the car was stationary and that both passengers were not responsive.

Several SCDF officers were dispatched to the scene.

One officer noticed that the eyes of Lim and his friend were closed and both were leaning towards the centre of the car.

The SCDF officer knocked on the driver’s side window and Lim woke up.

He started to drive, despite the informant and the officer's motorcycle being in front of the car. 

The informant quickly jumped out of the way and the car crashed into the motorcycle, causing it to topple over onto the slip road. Lim continued to drive forward and dragged the motorcycle along the slip road for a short distance. 

This caused numerous scratches on the motorcycle, which cost S$1,148.40 to repair, Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) Darren Ang told the court.

Lim’s car then mounted the left curb on the slip road, before coming to a stop again, as SCDF officers at the scene surrounded the car and tried to get Lim to stop. 

This was captured by in-car camera footage from Lim’s car played in court, which showed him crashing into the motorcycle. Loud knocking and attempts to get the driver’s attention can also be heard.

Ignoring the officers’ instructions, Lim continued driving on North Buona Vista Road towards South Buona Vista Road against the flow of traffic, forcing other motorists to take evasive action.

Lim then mounted a curb on the main road and came to a stop when he hit a tree.

He was subsequently made to take a breathalyser test, which showed that he had 74 microgrammes of alcohol per 100 millilitres of breath — more than double the legal limit.

A DANGER TO 'MANY CATEGORIES OF PEOPLE'

DPP Ang sought eight to 10 weeks’ jail, a S$7,000 fine and three to four years disqualification from driving for Lim’s offences. 

He noted that while Lim had made full restitution for the damage caused to the SCDF motorcycle, his actions were “highly dangerous”. 

Despite the efforts of SCDF officers to get his attention, Lim had continued to drive along the main road and against the flow of traffic, he added.

Lim’s lawyer, Ms Lolita Andrew from law firm Dodwell and Co, sought a shorter jail term for him, arguing that he had sleep apnea and that he was not deliberately evading the authorities. 

However, District Judge Luke Tan did not accept that Lim’s sleep apnea had any impact on his behaviour on the night of the offences.

Lim’s actions posed danger to “many categories of people”, including the informant, SCDF officers, his passenger, other motorists and himself, the judge added.

For dangerous driving, Lim could have been jailed for up to 12 months or fined up to S$5,000, or received both punishments.

Those who drive while drunk can be jailed for up to 12 months and fined up to S$10,000, or both upon a first conviction.