SINGAPORE – The fourth driver who was part of a group of six that went on a midnight joyride on the CTE was sentenced to four months’ jail on July 13.
Lee Jun En Gilviz was also disqualified from driving for three years from the date of his release from prison.
The 23-year-old had pleaded guilty to one charge of dangerous driving.
He and five others were involved in a major road traffic accident involving two collisions in the early hours of Oct 27, 2024.
Two of the drivers, Damien Chia Hwa Chuan, 29, and Sherman Quah Kok Rong, 22, were sentenced to four months and two weeks’ jail and two months and three weeks’ jail respectively on June 29.
Both were also disqualified from driving for three years from the date of their release.
Another man, Marcus Lau Yong Wei, 35, was sentenced to four months’ jail on June 26 and disqualified from driving for three years after pleading guilty to dangerous driving.
Charges against the other alleged drivers – Goh Jared-Kane, 26, and Kong Jia Quan, 24 – are still before the courts.
Assistant Public Prosecutor Chye Jer Yuan said the group of six had met up at a carpark in Stadium Boulevard at around 1am on Oct 27, 2024, before setting off on a joyride to the downtown area.
They trailed one another towards town via the PIE and the CTE before exiting at Buyong Road and continuing along Orchard Road, Bras Basah Road and Raffles Boulevard, where the accident occurred in front of the Fort Canning Tunnel.
Lee had been travelling at speeds of between 141kmh and 181kmh along the CTE near the Rangoon Road Exit, where the speed limit is 90kmh.
Security camera footage showed Goh speeding along Stamford Road towards Fort Canning Link, with Kong and Lee following closely behind in separate cars.
During the drive, Goh had to brake hard to avoid a collision as he was making a right turn into Queen Street from Stamford Road.
The sudden braking caused Kong’s vehicle to rear-end Goh’s. Lee then swerved sharply to the right; his car mounted the adjacent grass verge and overturned.
As a result, the roadside vegetation, a road sign and a traffic light signal were damaged. The total cost of repairing the damaged property came to more than $2,900, said the prosecutor.
Meanwhile, Lau and Chia were approaching the accident site at high speed. As debris from the first collision flew across the far-right lane, Lau braked, causing Chia’s car to ram into Lau’s vehicle.
Quah, who managed to avoid hitting anything, did not stop at the accident site. Instead, he drove to a nearby building, while Goh and Kong drove there in their own cars.
Lee was taken to Singapore General Hospital for treatment. He suffered a neck sprain, chest and abdominal contusions, and abrasions on his right hand.
His 22-year-old passenger was not injured.
Court documents stated that the front of Lee’s car was dented and ripped off as a result of the accident. The left side mirror was shattered, and the windscreen was cracked.
Lee was arrested on March 2.
The prosecutor sought a sentence of between four and six months’ jail and a three- to four-year driving disqualification for Lee.
The court heard that Lee had a prior conviction in 2023 for using a communication device while driving.
The prosecutor said that Lee’s dangerous and reckless driving was sustained and deliberate, rather than a momentary or transient lapse in judgment.
“The most egregious instance occurred at the junction of Stamford Road and Victoria Street, where the accused had entered the junction at an estimated speed of 122kmh to 144kmh in a 50kmh zone, more than twice the legal limit.”
He added that the fact that Lee’s car overturned further demonstrated the dangerous manner of driving that Lee had adopted at the time of the offence.
Lee’s lawyer told the court that his client had made full restitution for the damage he caused.
For dangerous driving, an offender can be fined up to $5,000, jailed for up to one year, or both.