Man jailed for driving off during police check, dragging officer into middle of CTE

SINGAPORE: A man drove off in the middle of a Traffic Police check while an officer held onto his steering wheel during the morning rush hour last year.

The officer was dragged for a distance of 75m by the moving car. He was eventually hurled into the middle of the Central Expressway (CTE), where he rolled to a stop in front of three lanes of traffic.

Heng Yong Qin, 32, was sentenced on Tuesday (Mar 8) to a total of six years and 36 days' jail and three strokes of the cane after pleading guilty to voluntarily causing hurt to deter a public servant from his duty.

He was given an additional 44 days' jail as he committed offences while under a remission order.

Heng also pleaded guilty to two other charges of breaching his curfew under his remission order in September and October 2020, and consuming methamphetamine sometime around March 2021.

The victim was a senior staff sergeant with the Singapore Police Force.

On the morning of the incident on on Mar 27, 2021, he was driving along the CTE towards Ayer Rajah Expressway at around 7.30am when he saw Heng driving his car without a seatbelt.

He signalled to Heng to pull over at the road shoulder, which Heng did. The officer then parked his motorcycle behind the car.

The officer signalled to Heng to exit his car, but Heng ignored him and stayed in the vehicle. Sensing that something was amiss, the officer walked over to the window on the driver's side and asked Heng why he was not wearing a seatbelt.

Heng did not answer the question and handed over his driver's licence. The officer screened the licence and found that Heng was wanted by the Central Narcotics Bureau for failing to report for his urine test.

The officer asked Heng to exit his vehicle, open his car boot and lean against the boot to remain within sight. Heng did as he was told. But when he spotted another police vehicle approaching, he came nervous that he would be arrested.

Heng decided to flee the scene and immediately dashed towards the driver's seat, according to court documents. The officer tried to grab his arm but he managed to break free, enter the car and start the ignition.

Knowing that Heng was intending to flee the scene, the officer held onto the victim's arm with his left hand and the car's steering wheel with his right hand.

Heng hit the officer's left arm to break free. He then stepped on the accelerator pedal and drove off, despite knowing that the officer was still holding onto his steering wheel.

The officer was dragged along with the car until he lost his balance and fell onto the road, where he remained lying on the ground, unable to get up.

In court, the prosecution played video footage of the incident that showed the officer being flung into the middle of the CTE, which was then busy with many vehicles including lorries.

The officer's colleague later rode his motorcycle and parked it between the victim and oncoming traffic. There was a build-up of traffic as vehicles tried to avoid the victim.

The victim lay on the ground for about 18 minutes before he was taken to the hospital. He sustained injuries to his neck and back, and received 10 days of hospitalisation leave.

According to court documents, after Heng saw the officer fall onto the road, he stepped harder on his accelerator and sped off.

To escape detection, he parked outside a primary school and walked towards Whampoa, where he flagged a taxi to his cousin's house. He was arrested later that day.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Phoebe Tan sought a jail term of between six years and 36 days, and six years, nine months and 74 days, with three strokes of the cane.

She said it was "purely fortuitous" that no vehicles collided into the victim when he was lying on the road.

She also argued that Heng's plea of guilt should not be given significant weight for mitigation as there was  "overwhelming" evidence against him in the form of the video footage.

Defence lawyer Wee Hong Shern asked for not more than five years and 10 months' jail. He said that Heng's offence did not involve a great degree of sophistication or planning, but was "reactionary".

Heng's knowledge that he faced a jail sentence for breaching his remission order "launched him into a state of panic and desperation", said Mr Wee.