Drunk driver sentenced after driving into stationary police car
On 5 Aug, the drunk driver who rear-ended a police car parked along Somerset Road was sentenced to three weeks’ jail and a S$7,000 fine.
The 39-year-old man, Meng Xianglei, was also disqualified from driving all classes of vehicles for three years as a result of the incident that happened on 6 April 2024.
Meng pleaded guilty to one count of driving while under the influence of alcohol and another for driving without due care.
Driver had 10 beers before crash
The Straits Times (ST) reported that on 5 April, at around 10pm, Meng met his friends at a restaurant in Jurong Trade Hub, where he consumed around five glasses of beer before the group decided to move to another pub in Geylang.
After driving more than 20km to the Geylang pub, Meng consumed another five glasses of beer.
Image by MS News, for illustration purposes only.
At 2.30am on 6 April, Meng decided to drive home to Ang Mo Kio.
En route, while passing through Somerset Road heading towards Grange Road, he drove into a stationary police car that had its hazard lights on, damaging the rear left side of the vehicle.
Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) Timothy Ong said that the officers were attending to a separate urgent matter at the time.
Meng has since fully paid for the damage to the police car, which added up to more than S$2,300 in repairs.
Driver more than doubled alcohol limit in breathalyser test
A breathalyser test taken after his arrest recorded 86 micrograms (mcg) of alcohol per 100 millilitres of breath, over double the legal limit of 35 mcg of alcohol per 100 millilitres of breath.
Driving while under the influence of alcohol carries a fine from S$2,000 to S$10,000, a jail term of up to 12 months, or both.
Repeat offenders may be fined up to S$20,000 and jailed for up to two years.
Meanwhile, driving without care or attention is an offense that carries a fine of up to S$1,500, a jail term of up to six months, or both.
Also read: Drunk driver crashes into 3 motorcycles & car after driving against traffic in Clementi
Drunk driver crashes into 3 motorcycles & car after driving against traffic in Clementi
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