Man who dragged ICA officer with car after being stopped for fuel tank checks convicted of rash act

SINGAPORE: A man who drove off while an Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) officer was partially inside his car at Woodlands Checkpoint was convicted of a rash act endangering human life on Friday (Jan 30).

Steve Ling Wei Liang, a 40-year-old Singaporean, had been stopped because his fuel tank was less than three-quarters full, which was a violation of the rule requiring vehicles to have their fuel tanks at least three-quarters full when leaving Singapore.

When the ICA officer asked Ling to provide his passport, Ling drove off with the officer caught in his window.

He had contested the charge at trial.

However, District Judge Vince Gui found on Friday that it was rash of Ling to step on the accelerator when the officer was partially inside Ling's vehicle.

He found that Ling had acted rashly, without regard for the safety or life of the officer, Mr Tan Yi Loong.

Mr Tan suffered a bruised knee, and the judge said it was fortuitous that his injuries were not worse.

Mr Tan had testified during the trial about the incident on Dec 12, 2023, where he was the deputy team leader for his deployment as a "departure car officer".

He said that he remembered Ling's red car and that Ling refused to comply.

He said Ling asked him for a chance, saying he "cannot go court", while inching his vehicle forward.

Footage played in court showed the red hatchback lurching forward towards the right with Mr Tan caught in the driver's window.

He had instinctively reached out to steady himself and grabbed the steering wheel in panic.

Mr Tan said the car moved for what "felt like forever" and there were "many things going on" in his mind because this was not normal, as most people are compliant during his fuel gauge checks.

Ling will return to court for sentencing in March.

For a rash act endangering human life, he could be jailed for up to a year, fined up to S$5,000, or both.