SINGAPORE – Choosing not to call for a valet after a night of partying, a man drove his friend’s car to her home as the group felt he was the most sober of the lot.
After exiting the East Coast Parkway (ECP), the man, a doctor, spotted a police road block at Tanjong Katong Road and was flagged down.
Instead of stopping, he hit the brakes and reversed the car back onto the expressway.
When the police caught up to him, the man tried to pass off false particulars and said he was a private tutor.
On Feb 28, Oh Shen Leong, 36, pleaded guilty to one count of failing to stop at the road block and another for driving without reasonable consideration for other road users.
Another charge for providing false information to the police will be taken into consideration for his sentencing on April 17.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Ariel Tan said that Oh had met up with two friends, a woman, Chew, and a man, Low, for dinner on Sept 8, 2023.
After having a glass of wine, the trio decided to head to Capital Zouk at Clarke Quay to party.
While there, Oh consumed a glass of gin and tonic, and another glass of whiskey and Coke. At about 3am on Sept 9, 2023, the trio decided to leave to head back to Chew’s home.
Chew, who drove her car to Clarke Quay, handed over the keys to Oh, as she felt he was in a better state to drive after partying.
Oh then drove the car, with Chew and Low as passengers, towards Chew’s house. After exiting the ECP on Tanjong Katong Road South, he spotted a police road block.
DPP Tan said Oh knew he had consumed alcohol and did not want to risk a positive result on a breathalyser test.
“Spurred on by the desire to escape any potential liability that he may open himself up to, he decided to evade the police roadblock by reversing his car back into the ECP and taking a different route back to Chew’s home,” she said.
Police officers traced the car by its licence plate to Chew’s residence at around 4am.
Oh then provided a set of false particulars to a police officer when asked, and said he was a private tutor. He also said that a valet had taken the three of them to Chew’s residence and that they did not consume any alcohol that night.
Oh then claimed to be dizzy and dehydrated and requested to be taken to a hospital. However, he refused to be taken when the ambulance arrived.
He only provided his real particulars when a screening of the NRIC number he had provided was invalid.
Oh admitted to driving the car only when all three were being arrested and handcuffed at around 6am.
The prosecution is seeking a jail term of between two and three weeks, and a disqualification of Oh’s driving licence.
The defence disagreed. Oh’s lawyer, Mr Philip Fong from Harry Elias Partnership, said the prosecution was overstating Oh’s condition at the point of time.
Said Mr Fong: “Just because my client had some drinks and reversed against the flow of traffic, does not translate into evidence that he was driving in a careless manner that could result in great potential harm.”
Mr Fong had sought a fine of between $8,900 and $9,900, with no disqualification of Oh’s driving licence.
“The fact of the matter is – this happened at 3am in the morning. There were no cars or pedestrians on the road. The potential harm was nonexistent,” he added.
In his mitigation, Oh had explained that it was a spur of the moment decision to furnish false particulars to the police when first asked. He also cited feelings of anxiety.
“He did not mean to cause disruptions to any police investigations. He also promptly corrected his particulars upon the officer’s second request,” said Mr Fong, who said Oh was exhausted and embarrassed at this point.
The prosecution argued that the defence’s mitigation cannot be given much weight.
Said DPP Tan: “To furnish false particulars is not a minor thing. His actions cannot reflect that he had just made an honest mistake, or that it was because he was feeling anxious.”
She said that Oh had lied repeatedly to the police officer, including coming up with a narrative that a valet drove them back and that he was in the back seat of the car.
He had also denied consuming any alcohol that night.
“It is completely unbelievable that he could weave such a story. It boggles the mind that he claimed to be a tutor when he was in fact a doctor, just because he was feeling anxious,” she said.
She added that he should not be viewed as a first-time offender as he had two compounded offences – one for failing to conform to a red light signal on Feb 14, 2023, and another for speeding on Oct 21, 2023.
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