SINGAPORE: A man who drank and drove into four pedestrians in Tanjong Pagar two years ago was sentenced to 18 weeks' jail and banned from driving for five years on Monday (Apr 1).

During the evening peak hour on Dec 7, 2017, insurance agent Lim Kwong Fei was driving to his office from home along Tanjong Pagar Road when he suddenly swerved his vehicle to the right and mounted the central divider, uprooting a traffic sign.



He then ploughed into four pedestrians who were standing on the raised central divider, throwing them into the air along with the metal sign, the court heard.

Instead of stopping, he continued driving his vehicle off the divider, onto the other side of the road and uprooted another traffic sign.

He then drove against traffic for about 20m, colliding into a lorry and later the back of a taxi, when he finally stopped.

VICTIMS SUFFERED SEVERE INJURIES, DAMAGES



Lim's actions resulted in brain injuries to two of the pedestrians, kidney problems for a third and psychiatric difficulties for the fourth.

On top of these four victims, the taxi driver and lorry driver were also injured and their vehicles were damaged - the cabby paying about S$13,400 to repair his vehicle, and the lorry driver suffering S$3,456 in damages to his vehicle.

Lim pleaded guilty last week to drink driving and being incapable of having proper control of his car.

Another three charges of injuring the pedestrians and driving against the flow of traffic were taken into consideration for sentencing.

The prosecution had asked for five months' jail and five years' disqualification from driving, pointing out that three of the pedestrians continue to see doctors for treatment.

Lim had also zig-zagged and swerved over some distance, and just missed hitting a young girl who was crossing the road with her father.

On top of this, Lim had lied about having drunk before he drove, admitting it only after his wife's statement to the police refuted his lie.

DRIVER HAS MADE RESTITUTION TO TWO VICTIMS

Lim, who was represented by lawyers Josephus Tan and Cory Wong of Invictus Law, has made full restitution to the drivers of the taxi and lorry for the damage to their vehicles.

The defence asked for not more than 14 weeks' jail but agreed with the prosecution on the five-year driving ban.

Mr Tan said that Lim's alcohol level was "very low", with 31ug recorded at the traffic police headquarters, which "is not even exceeding the prescribed limit of 35ug".

In response to the prosecution's point that Lim had failed to render assistance to the victims, Mr Tan said that his client had initially tried to do so but "was surrounded by an angry mob which was shouting at him aggressively and yelling at him to stay away from the victims".

VERY SERIOUS INJURIES: JUDGE

On Monday, District Judge Lorraine Ho said the harm caused to the six victims was very serious, with medical reports confirming the severity of their injuries.

The victims, who were aged between 24 and 57, included a father and daughter pair who were shopping for a birthday cake, an Australian tourist and a Myanmar national.

The father was warded with bleeding in the brain and fractures, and could not carry out basic tasks like going to the toilet, bathing or feeding himself after the accident.

The Myanmar national fainted after being flung off the central divider and fractured his nose among other serious injuries.

The Australian tourist was celebrating his birthday when he was hit, and remains able only to undertake light work due to weakness in his back. He fractured his sacrum, a bone between the hip bones of the pelvis, and could not walk or feed himself while warded.

The judge took into account Lim's "relatively good traffic record", the fact that he had made restitution to two victims and was ready to do the same for the others once their claims were ready, as well as his low blood alcohol level.

However, she said there was "clearly evidence of dangerous driving behaviour" and pointed out that Lim had not shown remorse by pleading guilty at an early stage.

She added that those who had drunk may think they are able to drive adequately, but such calculated risks may turn out to be a mistaken belief, and the consequences may be dire.

The best policy therefore, was to not drink and drive, as this ensures the safety of the driver and all road users, said the judge, pointing out that public transport is readily available in Singapore and it is better to be safe than sorry.