Public Prosecutor v Lee Meng Soon

• Jurisdiction: Singapore
• Judge: Lee Seiu Kin J
• Judgment Date: 14 August 2007
• Neutral Citation: [2007] SGHC 129
• Docket Number: Magistrate's Appeal No 91 of 2007
• Date: 14 August 2007
• Year: 2007
• Published date: 21 August 2007
• Plaintiff Counsel: Lau Wing Yum and Jason Chan (Attorney-General's Chambers)
• Citation: [2007] SGHC 129
• Defendant Counsel: Lok Vi Ming SC and Derek Kang (Rodyk & Davidson LLP)
• Court: High Court (Singapore)
• Subject Matter: Section 84(3) Road Traffic Act (Cap 276, 2004 Rev Ed),Degree of injury suffered,Hit-and-run,Judicial discretion,First offender,Whether fine only or imprisonment,Regard to previous sentencing precedents,Degree of alcohol consumption,Sentencing,Road Traffic,Criminal Procedure and Sentencing,Failure of driver involved in road accident to render assistance,Offences,Prerogative to correct sentences of sentencing judge,Degree of control of vehicle,Level of alcohol in breath or blood,Whether deterrent sentence stemming hit-and-run cases,Unique facts and circumstances of each case,Section 67(1) Road Traffic Act (Cap 276, 2004 Rev Ed),Principles,Drink driving,Whether driver reasonably contemplating extent of damage

14 August 2007

Lee Seiu Kin J

1 The present appeals were brought by the public prosecutor (“the appellant”) against sentences imposed by the district judge for the following offences under the Road Traffic Act (Cap 276, 2004 Rev Ed) (“the Act”), to which the respondent pleaded guilty:

(a) Under s 67(1)(b) of the Act of driving a motor vehicle on a road with so much alcohol in his body that the proportion of it in his breath exceeded the prescribed limit for which the respondent was fined $3,000 (in default 15 days’ imprisonment) and disqualified from driving all classes of vehicles for two years with effect from 10 May 2007;

(b) Under s 65(b) of the Act for driving a vehicle on a road without reasonable consideration for other persons using the road for which the respondent was fined $800 (in default 4 days’ imprisonment);

(c) Under s 84(3) read with s 84(8) of the Act for failing to render such assistance as it may reasonably be in his power to render after being involved in an accident involving the vehicle he was driving and in which injuries were caused to two other persons, for which the respondent was sentenced to 4 weeks’ imprisonment and disqualified from driving all classes of vehicles for three years with effect from the date of his release from prison; and

(d) Under s 84(4) of the Act for removing without authority his vehicle after an accident, for which the respondent was fined $700 (in default 4 days’ imprisonment).

2 The crux of the prosecution’s appeal was that the sentences for the first and third charges were manifestly inadequate, i.e. the fine of $3,000 in respect of the offence under s 67(1)(b) and the 4 weeks’ imprisonment and the disqualification of three years in respect of the offence under s 84(3) read with s 84(4). The prosecution submitted that there should be a custodial sentence imposed in respect of the first charge and a longer term of imprisonment for the third charge.

Summary of facts

3 The statement of facts, to which the respondent agreed without qualification, reads as follows:

The complainant is Staff Sergeant Nelson Tan, attached to Central Police Division.

2. The accused is Lee Meng Soon, Male/35 years old. He was the driver of motor car SFG 8333 D at the material time. He is presently employed as an artiste at Mediacorp Pte Ltd.

3. On 8 October 2006 at about 4:13 am, the accused was driving along Serangoon Road towards Upper Serangoon Road at the extreme right lane. At the signalized cross-junction of Serangoon Road and Kitchener Road, the accused failed to keep a proper lookout ahead and thereby drove without reasonable consideration for other persons using the road.

4. This resulted in a side-swipe collision between the accused’s car and with motorcycle FX 7262 S, which was traveling [sic] in front of the car at the material time. The right front side of the accused’s vehicle hit the left rear side of the motorcycle FX 7262 S.

5. As a result of the accident, the rider of motorcycle FX 7262 S, one Periakaruppan Dhandapani (referred to as ‘the rider’), lost control of the said motorcycle. The rider and his pillion rider, one Jayaraman Senthil Kumar (referred to as the ‘the pillion’), fell to the ground as the motorcycle skidded along the road. The pillion suffered serious injuries.

6. The accused drove off from the accident location and continued to drive up Kitchener Road. He stopped his car along the left-hand side of the said road. The accused opened the door on the driver’s side of his car and looked back at the accident scene. The accused did not render any assistance to the rider or the pillion. He then closed the car door and drove away. The accused did not have the authority of a Police Officer to move or otherwise interfere with the car.

7. The accused was subsequently apprehended at the traffic junction of Kitchener Road and Jalan Besar. The complainant interviewed the accused, and noted that the latter smelled strongly of alcohol. A breathalyzer test was conducted on the accused and he failed the test. Subsequently the accused was placed under arrest and was escorted to the Traffic Police Department for a Breath Evidential Analyser (BEA) test.

8. The BEA test was conducted on the same day at about 6:27 am. The BEA test revealed that the proportion of alcohol in the accused’s breath was 77 microgrammes of alcohol in every 100 millilitres of breath. The prescribed limit is 35 microgrammes of alcohol per 100 millilitres of breath.

9. Both the rider and the pillion were conveyed to Changi General Hospital and Tan Tock Seng hospital respectively. Due to the accident, the rider sustained the following injures:

a) Dried blood noted at left external nares, no obvious septal deviation

b) Oedematous mildly bruised upper and lower lip

c) Area of irregularity at inferior border of upper incisor

d) Mild tenderness over left lower chest wall anteriorly with no bruising, chest and heart clear on auscultation

e) Abrasion 6cm x 3cm over ventral aspect of right forearm, tender over right elbow and slightly limited movement of right elbow due to pain

f) Abrasion 4cm x 4cm over left wrist with full range of movement of left wrist

g) Tenderness over right wrist with movement slightly limited by pain

h) X-ray chest shows possible break in cortex of posterior left 8^th rib, no pneumothorax, X-ray right elbow no fracture seen

10. The rider was discharged with medication and given medical leave from 8 October 2006 to 13 October 2006.

11. Due to the accident, the pillion sustained the following injuries:

a) Open comminuted fractures and near-amputation at the distal, middle and proximal phalanges of the left third toe

b) Abrasions of the left side of the forehead, left eye brow, left side of face, left elbow and the left knee

c) Crack, intra-articular fracture of the distal left radius

12. The abrasions were cleansed and dressed. The third toe was treated with wound debridement and terminalisation of the toe at the proximal phalanx. The crack fracture was treated with a cast. The pillion made good progress and was discharged after two days on 10 October 2006. He was granted medical leave from 8 October 2006 to 6 November 2006.

13. The accused is charged accordingly.

Mitigation

4 Counsel for the respondent tendered the following written mitigation plea:

A. Introduction

1. The Defendant, Mr Lee Meng Soon, has pleaded guilty to the following charges:

i) Drink driving over the prescribed limit under Section 67(1)(b) of the Road Traffic Act, Chapter 276 ("RTA").

ii) Driving without reasonable consideration under Section 65 of the RTA.

iii) Failing to render assistance under Section 84(3) read with Section 84(7) and punishable under Section 84(8) of the RTA.

iv) Removing a vehicle involved in a traffic accident without authority under Section 84(4) read with Section 84(7) and punishable under Section 131(2) of the RTA.

2. The following charge has been taken into consideration for the purpose of sentencing:

i) Failing to stop after a traffic accident under Section 84(1) read with Section 84(7) and punishable under Section 131(2) of the RTA.

3. In this plea, we seek to highlight the mitigating factors in Mr Lee's favour in order that this Court is in a position to impose a just and fair sentence.

4. We will submit that in the circumstances, a custodial sentence and/or the imposition of a lengthy period of disqualification are unwarranted and would be extremely harsh on Mr Lee.

B. The Defendant's Background

5. Mr Lee is 35 years old and a Permanent Resident of Singapore. He is a well-known and popular actor with MediaCorp Pte Ltd ("MediaCorp"). He has been working in Singapore since 1989. He obtained his driving licence in Malaysia around 1993. He converted his Malaysian driving licence to a Singaporean one in 1995 and has since been driving in Singapore.

C. Prior to the accident on 8 October 2006

At Cuscaden Walk

6. On 7 October 2006 at about 10.30pm, Mr Lee was at his friend's apartment at a condominium at Cuscaden Walk ("the apartment"). He was with another friend, Sean. The two of them were waiting for a mutual friend, Andy. The 3 of them had planned to meet another friend, Patrick, at Balaclava bar at Suntec City ("Balaclava"). They had not met up for quite some time.

7. As Mr Lee anticipated that he and his friends would have drinks that night, he took the precaution of leaving his car in the car park at the condominium and took public transport that evening. Mr Lee was aware that drink driving was against the law and fully intended to abide by the law.

8. When Andy turned up at the apartment, he indicated that he would only be able to join them at Balaclava later. As such, Mr Lee and Sean left the apartment by taxi for Balaclava without Andy. Between about 10.30pm to about 11.30pm, Mr Lee recalls having some wine at the apartment.

At Balaclava

9. Mr Lee and Sean stayed at Balaclava between around 11.45pm and about 1.30 am. During this time, Mr Lee recalls having had some beer. Before they left Balaclava, Patrick joined them. In the end, Andy did not turn up, as he was occupied at a birthday party for another mutual friend, Jeff. At about 1.30am, at Andy's behest, they went to Party World KTV at International Building, Orchard Road ("the KTV") to join Jeff’s birthday party. Mr Lee, Sean and Patrick took a taxi to the KTV.

At the KTV

10. Aside from wishing Jeff a happy birthday, Mr Lee did not join in the main celebrations and spent most of his time talking to a few friends in a corner of the KTV. After about an hour, he left the KTV and walked back to the apartment.

Back at the apartment

11. The walk and the cool night air refreshed Mr Lee. When he arrived back at the apartment, he took a rest. Sometime after that, around 4.00am, Mr Lee felt hungry and decided to go for supper. He felt that he had not drunk a lot that night and thought that the alcohol level in his body had dropped below the legal limit, as it had been quite some time since he last took...