Man jailed 4 weeks for driving against traffic to avoid police checks
AFP file photo.
SINGAPORE — Fearing that he would be caught for drink-driving, Lam Chen Wee took drastic steps to escape after spotting a police road block after a night of reverie: He drove his Mercedes-Benz in reverse for 300 metres against oncoming traffic, including on expressways, made illegal U-turns, and attempted to evade detection by parking along a dimly-lit road with the headlights turned off.
On Wednesday (Nov 22), Lam was sentenced to four weeks' jail, fined S$2,700 and banned from driving for three years. His rap sheet included dangerous driving, drink driving, failing to stop when ordered by police officers, and leaving a vehicle in a manner likely to cause danger to others.
The 27-year-old had taken the wheel despite having drunk at least half a bottle of cognac at home and four glasses of the same drink at Zouk. After that, he had intended to continue drinking, and got behind the wheel to drive his friends to a nightclub at the Pan-Pacific Hotel in the early hours of Jan 26 this year.
At around 3 am that day, however, after turning off the Pan-Island Expressway into Jalan Toa Payoh, he spotted the roadbock some distance away. To avoid it, he drove his car in reverse towards the Upper Serangoon Road slip road, ignoring one of his three friends in the car who told him to continue driving normally.
Lam kept going even after almost mounting a curb, causing several motorists to swerve in order to avoid a collision, and eventually stopped on the shoulder of the road, before turning off his headlights in a bid to avoid being seen.
He then continued in reverse along the road before stopping at a bend, which posed a danger to other road users, said Deputy Public Prosecutor Lee Zu Zhao.
Two minutes later, and without turning on his headlamps, Lam made an illegal U-turn and drove against traffic for about 100m along Jalan Toa Payoh, before stopping at a bus bay nearby.
He then continued driving against the flow of traffic along the PIE towards Changi Airport, causing four vehicles — two taxis, a car and a motorcycle — to slow down abruptly.
He drove against traffic for another 31 metres before making another illegal U-turn to join the normal flow of traffic along the PIE.
At this point, two Traffic Police officers had been alerted to Lam's driving. They caught up with him and signalled to him to stop, but Lam continued to drive on. It was only at the PIE 13km mark that one of the officers managed to stop Lam's vehicle.
While interviewing him, the officer noted that Lam reeked of alcohol and conducted a breathalyzer test.
Lam failed it, and was brought to Jurong Police Division for another test, which found that he had had 38 microgrammes (mcg) of alcohol per 100 millilitres of breath — higher than the legal driving limit of 35 mcg.
