Back in Nov 2017, Lee Cheng Yan dragged a traffic police officer with his Maserati for around 124 metres in an attempt to escape.
As a result, he was jailed, fined, and given a lifetime driving ban. Although he was released on bail pending appeal, he reoffended by driving despite the ban, evading a police roadblock.
This earned him an additional 21 months and 16 weeks in jail, plus another lifetime driving ban.
Currently serving a prison sentence of six years, four months, and 16 weeks, Lee has asked for his Maserati back. He requested the High Court to reduce his jail term as well.
According to Channel NewsAsia (CNA), Lee asked the High Court to return his vehicle in a criminal motion heard on Wednesday (18 Jan).
This was so he could use the money from selling it to provide for his two daughters in Japan.
His sister has attempted to relay the issue to the Attorney-General’s Chambers for months. However, her efforts have proven unsuccessful, Lee said.
Lee also requested that the court shorten his jail term by making some of his sentences run concurrently.
Stating that he was “really sorry”, Lee said he did not understand the consequences of his actions while enjoying his “freedom outside.”
Deputy Public Prosecutor Timotheus Koh said the hearing for the forfeiture of the Maserati will take place on 25 Jan at the State Courts.
According to the Road Traffic Act, if the prosecution applies to forfeit the vehicle of a repeat offender who is convicted of driving while under a ban, the State Court will have to do so.
Justice Aedit Abdullah admitted that the provision appears to be mandatory, but said Lee should have been informed of the forfeiture hearing.
Typically, the State Court would give them the opportunity to make their case at the hearing.
The judge then asked for Lee and his sister to receive details of the hearing so they could be in attendance.
On the request for a lower jail term, Mr Koh said the sentences were fair as Lee had reoffended in a similar manner while out on bail.
In addition, Lee had failed to appeal, delaying it by nine months. He justified this by saying he was unaware of the given timelines and was under Covid-19 isolation.
Mr Koh pointed out that since Lee successfully appealed against his first sentence for the offence in 2017, he should have been aware of the timeline.
Furthermore, Lee let prison officers know from the start he did not want to appeal.
Lee then repeated the same reasons for a lower jail term, to which the judge said:
You are charged this way because you drove under disqualification on three occasions.
“I cannot understand why you can come here and ask for a reduction this way,” he continued. “You should be thankful the sentence was not the maximum.”
Back in Nov 2017, Lee dragged a traffic police officer for around 124 metres in an effort to escape.
He received a jail term of four years and seven months in Jul 2020, along with a fine of S$3,700 and a lifetime driving ban.
The officer suffered injuries to his knee, neck, and back. The Home Team’s medical board later medically downgraded him.
While out on bail pending appeal, Lee reoffended by driving dangerously and evading a police roadblock despite being under a ban.
In 2022, he received another jail term of 21 months and 16 weeks, a second lifetime driving ban, and a S$1,000 fine.
The sentence was for other charges as well, related to illegal football betting and instigating a man to retrieve subscribers’ addresses through unauthorised access to Singtel.
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Featured image by MS News.
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