Public Prosecutor v Choo Kok Hwee

• Jurisdiction: Singapore
• Judge: John Ng
• Judgment Date: 13 January 2014
• Neutral Citation: [2014] SGDC 15
• Court: District Court (Singapore)
• Docket Number: DACs 36181/2012, 36182/2012 and 26226/2013, Magistrate’s Appeal No. 305/2013/01
• Published date: 16 January 2014
• Year: 2014
• Hearing Date: 03 December 2013
• Plaintiff Counsel: DPPs Ng Yi Wen and Jason Nim
• Defendant Counsel: Mr Dhanwant Singh of M/s S K Kumar Law Practice LLP
• Citation: [2014] SGDC 15

District Judge Ng John:

The Accused pleaded guilty to two charges of driving while under the influence of alcohol above the statutory limit under section 67(1)(b) of the Road Traffic Act (Cap. 276), 2004 Revised Edition, on two separate occasions namely, 2 September 2012 and 23 May 2013. The offence committed on 23 May 2013 was committed whilst he was out on bail for the offence committed on 2 September 2012. Prior to the commission of these two offences of drink-driving, the Accused had been convicted on 31 March 1988 of an offence of driving while under the influence of alcohol under section 67(1) of the Road Traffic Act (Cap. 276), 1985 Revised Edition.

The Accused also admitted to the commission of an offence of driving a motor vehicle without due care and attention, resulting in a collision onto the rear of another motor vehicle and gave his consent to have it taken into consideration for sentence.

Brief Facts

In 1988, the Accused was convicted of his first offence of drink-driving. In 2012, he committed his second offence of drink-driving. In 2013, whilst he was out on bail for his second offence of drink-driving, he committed his third offence of drink-driving. The facts for the second and third drink-driving offences are as follows.

On 2 September 2012, at about 12.30 a.m., the Accused was driving the motor car SKF 8726A in the motor car departure lane at the Woodlands Checkpoint. He was involved in a minor accident with another vehicle and he was arrested for the offence of driving while under the influence of alcohol and brought back to Jurong Police station for a Breath Evidential Analyzer Test (“BEA Test”). The BEA Test result showed 61 mcg of alcohol per 100 ml of breath. This exceeded the prescribed limit of 35 mcg. The Accused met his friends at a hawker centre earlier and had drunk beer before driving his car to Woodlands Checkpoint.

On 23 May 2013, at about 5.21 a.m., the Accused was spotted by a police officer to be driving his car in an unsteady manner. The Accused was stopped by the officer and found to be driving under the influence of alcohol. He was arrested and brought back to Central Police station for a BEA Test. The BEA Test result showed 75 mcg of alcohol per 100 ml of breath. Earlier that night, at about 1 a.m., the Accused had drunk alcohol and hard liquor at a Disco opposite Vivo City Shopping Centre. This offence of drink-driving was committed whilst the Accused was on Police Bail for the offence committed on 2 September 2012.

The Accused was sentenced to a total of 5 weeks’ imprisonment, a total of $10,000 fine (which has been paid) and a total of 5 years’ disqualification from driving with effect from the date of release from prison.

Relevant Antecedent

The Accused had both similar and non-similar criminal records. For the purposes of sentencing in this case, only one previous conviction on 31 March 1988 for drink-driving was relevant. On that occasion, he was sentenced to a fine of $1,000 and disqualified from driving for a period of one year.

Mitigation

Counsel for the Accused tendered a written mitigation plea and asked for a non-custodial sentence. In the mitigation plea, the counsel submitted that the Accused’s first conviction of drink-driving in 1988 should be seen as a different offence from his current drink-driving offences and that the Accused ought not be treated as a repeat offender. He urged the Court to sentence the Accused as a first...