Man jailed 6 weeks for drunk driving car into Seletar Country Club pool twice
A 63-year-old man has been sentenced to six weeks in jail after drunkenly driving his car into the Seletar Country Club pool not once, but twice within just eight minutes.
On Monday (7 April), William Teng Guan How pleaded guilty to charges of drink driving and performing a rash act endangering the safety of others, as reported by The Straits Times (ST).
Man downs 2 whiskies before driving car into pool
According to ST, Teng had attended a corporate dinner on 27 Aug 2024 where he allegedly consumed only two shots of whiskey.
At around 9.30pm, he decided to drive home — a decision that ended in disaster.
Instead of heading for the exit, Teng took a wrong turn within the country club and ended up driving through a playground towards the closed swimming pool.
Source: ROADS.sg on Facebook
Court footage revealed the moment he drove his car into the pool, reversed out, and then drove the front half of the vehicle back into the water again, causing significant damage.
Source: Google Maps
Footage from ROADS.sg on Facebook posted on 28 Aug 2024 showed his black Kia plunged into the pool.
The drunken drive caused extensive property damage, including plants, metal railings, a shed, tiles, drain covers, garden lights, and water pipes — totalling an estimated S$18,000 in repairs.
Source: ROADS.sg on Facebook
A breathalyser test conducted after his arrest revealed 63 micrograms of alcohol per 100ml of breath — nearly double the legal limit of 35 micrograms.
Man asks for heavy fine instead of jail term
In court, Teng’s lawyer appealed for a heavy fine instead of jail time, arguing that no one was injured during the incident.
However, District Judge Koo Zhi Xuan said that a fine would be “a travesty of justice, to put it mildly”.
“He was clearly unfit to drive; he was not in a state to understand what was happening.”
Source: ROADS.sg on Facebook
The judge stressed that although Teng hadn’t hurt anyone, a car in the hands of someone impaired is a “lethal weapon”, and it was sheer luck he wasn’t on a public road.
“He had caused substantial property damage. The extent of property damage caused is a good proxy to the damage he could have caused to human life,” the judge said.
Source: ROADS.sg on Facebook
Man was repeat traffic offender
The court also heard that Teng — the owner of property firm WRJ & Associates — had multiple past traffic offences from 2016 to 2017, including speeding, driving over a road divider, and failing to stop at a red light.
Source: Screenshot from PropertyForSale.com.sg
He pleaded guilty on 7 April to one charge of drink-driving and one for performing a rash act endangering human life.
He was sentenced to six weeks in jail and will be disqualified from holding a driving license for 3 years.
For drink driving, a first-time offender can be jailed for up to a year and fined up to $10,000.
A repeat offender can be jailed for up to two years and fined up to $20,000.
Also read: Car found submerged in Seletar Country Club swimming pool, driver arrested for drink-driving
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Featured image adapted from SG Road Vigilante on Facebook and ROADS.sg on Facebook.
