Public Prosecutor v Lim Zhi Wei, Justur

• Jurisdiction: Singapore
• Judge: Chay Yuen Fatt
• Judgment Date: 09 March 2020
• Neutral Citation: [2020] SGDC 56
• Court: District Court (Singapore)
• Docket Number: District Arrest Case 920828-2019 & Ors
• Year: 2020
• Published date: 18 March 2020
• Hearing Date: 19 February 2020,18 February 2020
• Plaintiff Counsel: DPP Lee Ti-Ting
• Defendant Counsel: Gino Hardial Singh (Abbots Chambers LLC)
• Citation: [2020] SGDC 56

District Judge Chay Yuen Fatt: Introduction

The accused, a 33 year-old Singaporean male, had 28 charges preferred against him. He pleaded guilty to a basket of 9 charges which included drugs, property and driving-related offences. The remaining 19 charges were taken into consideration for sentencing. He was sentenced to a total sentence of 6 years and 11 months’ imprisonment (one month short of 7 years’ imprisonment) with caning and a period of driving disqualification. He appealed against his sentence and is now serving his imprisonment sentence.

Charges

The accused faced 28 charges in total.

He pleaded guilty to the following 9 (“proceeded”) charges: One charge of long-term (“LT1”) consumption of methamphetamine under s 8(b)(ii) punishable under s 33(A)(2) of the Misuse of Drugs Act (Chapter 185)(“MDA”); One charge with enhanced punishment of possession of methamphetamine under s 8(a) punishable under s 33(1) of the MDA (“enhanced possession”); One charge for failing to report for urine test (“FRUT”) on 4 April 2019 under reg 15(3)(f) read with reg 15(6)(a) of the Misuse of Drugs (Approved Institutions and Treatment and Rehabilitation) Regulations (“MDR”); 2 charges for cheating by fraudulent sale of hotel stay packages (committed on 8 and 21 March 2019) under s 420 of the Penal Code; One charge for dishonest misappropriation of a wallet under s 403 of the Penal Code; One charge for forging someone’s NRIC for the purpose of cheating under s 468 of the Penal Code; One charge for driving whilst under disqualification under s 43(4) of the Road Traffic Act (Chapter 276)(“RTA”); and One charge for driving without insurance coverage under s 3(1) of Motor Vehicle (Third-Party Risks and Compensation) Act (Chapter 189)

The accused admitted and consented to have the remaining 19 charges taken into consideration (“TIC”) for the purpose of sentencing as follows: One other LT1 charge for consumption of MDMA; One other charge for enhanced possession of methamphetamine; 2 other FRUT charges; One charge for possession of drug utensils under s 9 MDA; 6 similar charges for cheating; One charge for theft of petrol under s 379 Penal Code; One charge for fraudulent possession of mobile phones under s 35(1) of the Miscellaneous Offences (Public Order and Nuisance) Act; 2 charges for unauthorised possession/use of another person’s NRIC under s 13 of the National Registration Act; One charge of assisting an unlicensed moneylender under s 14 of the Moneylenders Act; One charge for not surrendering his license whilst under disqualification under s 44(3) RTA; One charge for beating a red light under s 120(4) RTA; and One charge for speeding under s 63(4) RTA;

The Sentence

The accused was sentenced as tabulated below:

Charge No.	Section Convicted Under	Sentence
DAC-917386-2019	Section 8(b)(ii) p/u Section 33A(1) MDA	Five (5) years' and six (6) months' imprisonment and three (3) strokes of the cane.
DAC-920828-2019	Section 43(4) RTA	One (1) month's imprisonment. Disqualified from holding or obtaining all classes of driving licences for a period of twelve (12) months with effect from date of release.
DAC-920829-2019	Section 3(1) p/u Section 3(2) and Section 3(3) Motor Vehicles (Third- Party Risks and Compensation) Act	One (1) week's imprisonment. Disqualified from holding or obtaining all classes of driving licences for a period of twelve (12) months with effect from 18- February-2020.
DAC-934898-2019	Reg 15(3)(f) r/w Reg 15(6)(a) MDR	Six (6) months' imprisonment.
DAC-935796-2019	Section 8(a) p/u Section 33(1) MDA	Two (2) years' imprisonment.
DAC-935835-2019	Section 420 Penal Code	Five (5) months' imprisonment.
DAC-935838-2019	Section 420 Penal Code	Five (5) months' imprisonment.
DAC-900519-2020	Section 468 Penal Code	Five (5) months' imprisonment.
MAC-900189-2020	Section 403 Penal Code	One (1) month's imprisonment.
19 TIC charges:	DAC-900520-2020, DAC-900521-2020, DAC-901164-2020, DAC-911098-2019, DAC-911543-2019, DAC-911616-2019, DAC-911617-2019, DAC-917387-2019, DAC-920830-2019, DAC-924806-2019, DAC-924807-2019, DAC-934896-2019, DAC-934897-2019, DAC-935797-2019, DAC-935834-2019, DAC-935836-2019, DAC-935837-2019, MAC-900222-2020 and MAC-900223-2020
Further Orders:	Sentences in DAC-900519-2020, DAC-917386-2019, DAC- 920828-2019, DAC-934898-2019 and DAC-935835-2019 to run consecutively. Sentences in DAC-920829-2019, DAC-935796-2019, DAC- 935838-2019 and MAC-900189-2020 to run concurrently.
Total Sentence:	Five (5) years' and twenty-three (23) months' imprisonment with effect from 18-May-2019 and three (3) strokes of the cane. Disqualified from holding or obtaining all classes of driving licences for a period of twelve (12) months with effect from date of release.
Remarks:	The period 21/5/2019 to 1/6/2019 is not to be taken into account in computing sentence served.

I ordered the imprisonment sentences for 5 charges (emphasised above in bold) to run consecutively. These comprise the LT1 charge, the FRUT charge, the driving under disqualification charge, the forgery charge and one cheating charge. The imprisonment sentences for the remaining proceeded charges were ordered to run concurrently.

The total sentence added up to 5 years' and 23 months' imprisonment (i.e. 6 years and 11 months) and 3 strokes of the cane plus a period of disqualification from driving or holding all classes of licences. The imprisonment sentence was ordered to take effect from the date he was first remanded, discounting a very short period (i.e. 21 May 2019 to 1 June 2019) when he was serving sentence for another matter.

Statement of Facts

I set out the statement of facts (“SOF”) which the accused admitted without qualification. The SOF (edited for the sake of brevity) reads as follows:

ACCUSED

The accused is Lim Zhi Wei Justur… He was unemployed at the time of the offences.

FACTS RELATING TO [LT1] CHARGE

2. On 5th December 2018, officers from the Central Narcotics Bureau (“CNB”) … arrested the accused therein for suspicion of having consumed controlled drugs and recovered one (01) packet of crystalline substance … “C3”. 3 …the accused provided two bottles of his urine samples which were sealed …and sent to the Health Sciences Authority (“HSA”) on 6th December 2018 for analysis. 4 On 10th December 2018, [HSA analyst] Ng Xue Qin …issued the Certificate under Section 16 of the Misuse of Drugs Act…stating that upon analysis, the said urine sample was found to contain Methamphetamine. 5 On 7th December 2018, [HSA analyst] Kwok Yi Ling Miiko…issued the Certificate under Section 16 of the Misuse of Drugs Act…stating that upon analysis, the said urine sample was found to contain Methamphetamine. 6 Methamphetamine is a Specified Drug listed in The Fourth Schedule to The Misuse of Drugs Act… The accused is not authorized to consume Methamphetamine …and he has thereby committed an offence under Section 8(b)(ii) of the Misuse of Drugs Act, Chapter 185. 7 Prior to the commission of this offence, the accused had, on 31st May 2011…been convicted of an offence of Consumption of Specified Drug, to wit, Methamphetamine, under Section 8(b)(ii) of the Misuse of Drugs Act (Cap 185, 2008 Rev Ed), and was sentenced to 6 months’ imprisonment. 8 The accused had also, on 10th April 2013…been convicted of an offence of Consumption of Specified Drug, to wit, Methamphetamine, under Section 8(b)(ii) of the Misuse of Drugs Act (Cap 185, 2008 Rev Ed), and was sentenced to 3 years’ imprisonment, which convictions have not been set aside. As such, the accused is now liable to be punished under Section 33A(1) of the Misuse of Drugs Act, Chapter 185 (2008 Rev Ed).

FACTS RELATING TO [Driving Under Disqualification And Without Insurance Coverage] CHARGES

9 The complainant is … the owner of motorcar SJW9243S… 10 … 11 On 7th March 2019 at or about 10 pm, along Block 80 Lorong 4 Toa Payoh, Singapore, the accused drove the motorcar, SJW9243S which was rented under his name from the complainant whilst under disqualification… 12 …the complainant cross-checked the accused’s driving licence via the police website, and she discovered that the accused’s driving licence was invalid. The complainant quickly contacted the accused, and asked him to return the said motorcar. The complainant also lodged a police report the next day. The accused had been disqualified by the State Courts of Singapore from holding or obtaining a driving licence for all classes of vehicles for a period of 12 months with effect from 6 December 2018 till 5 December 2019. 13 As the accused was driving the said motorcar whilst under disqualification, there was no such a policy of insurance or security in respect of the Third-Party Risks as complies with the requirements of the Motor Vehicle (Third-Party Risks and Compensation) Act, Chapter 189. 14 Even though the accused had been disqualified…the accused failed to deliver his driving licence to the licensing section, traffic command within 7 days of the order of disqualification in contravention of section 44(3) of the Road Traffic Act Chapter 276. 15 The accused has therefore committed the offences of: a) Driving a vehicle whilst under disqualification under Section 43(4) of the Road Traffic Act, Chapter 276; b) Using vehicle without insurance coverage under Section 3(1) of the Motor Vehicle Act, Chapter 189.

FACTS RELATING TO [FRUT] CHARGE

16 On 12th August 2017, the accused was placed under supervision for 24 months by virtue of Regulation 15(2) of the Misuse of Drugs (Approved Institutions and Treatment and Rehabilitation) Regulations (...