SINGAPORE: Two women who swapped seats near a police roadblock because one of them was driving without a licence were sentenced to jail on Wednesday (Aug 6).
The driver, Sun Weilin Estella, 32, was given six weeks’ jail, while car owner Fong Yoke Mun, 29, was given five weeks.
They were both handed a two-year disqualification from attaining any type of driving licence.
Sun had pleaded guilty to a charge each of driving without a licence and obstructing justice by swapping seats.
Fong pleaded guilty to a charge of permitting Sun to drive without a licence, and another of swapping seats with Sun so Sun would not be arrested.
The court heard that the pair went drinking at a pub in the wee hours of Dec 23, 2023 with another friend, consuming about two pints of beer each until about 3am.
They decided to head off, but Fong complained of a headache. Sun then offered to drive them in Fong’s car, even though both of them knew that Sun did not have a licence.
Sun then drove the car with Fong in the front passenger seat.
Sun was in the yellow box at the junction of Upper Cross Street and Eu Tong Sen Street when she noticed a police roadblock about 107m ahead.
To avoid it, Sun reversed the car in the middle of the junction and turned right into Eu Tong Sen Street towards Hill Street.
Two police officers stationed there observed what happened. One of them flashed a torchlight at the car to signal Sun to stop, but Sun continued driving.
The officers gave chase. When the car stopped at a red light at the junction of Eu Tong Sen Street and North Canal Road, the two women quickly swapped seats so that Fong was in the driver’s seat.
They did this because they knew Sun did not have a valid driving licence and did not want her to be arrested, the prosecutor said.
The officers approached the car at the junction and directed Fong to pull over at a road ahead for checks. They noted that the pair had switched seats and interviewed them separately.
Fong admitted that Sun had initially driven the car, and Sun subsequently admitted this as well.
They both smelled of alcohol and were given breathalyser tests. After failing, they were arrested and escorted for further tests.
These breath analysing device tests revealed 46 microgrammes of alcohol in every 100ml of breath for Fong, and 19 microgrammes for Sun. The limit is 35 microgrammes per 100ml of breath.
The court heard that Sun has never held a valid Singapore Class 3 driving licence.
The prosecutor sought five to six weeks’ jail for Sun and four to six weeks’ jail for Fong, along with a driving ban.
MITIGATION
Defence lawyer S S Dhillon, assisted by Mr Benedict Cheong, sought five to six weeks’ jail for Sun and three to four weeks for Fong.
Mr Dhillon said Sun, a project director, comes from a single-parent family and lives with her mother.
On the night of the offence, the pair visited a karaoke bar at 1 Circular Road in Fong’s car. While at the bar, they made plans to meet a friend elsewhere.
After the bar closed at 3am, Fong began to feel slightly unwell, said Mr Dhillon. Sun helped her back to the car to rest.
However, after resting for about half an hour, Sun realised they were still due to meet their friend. She tried calling him to say they were about to leave, but he did not answer.
As they had kept their friend waiting for some time, Sun decided to drive the car. Since she was holding onto Fong’s keys, she got into the seat and drove out.
At the time, she held a provisional driving licence, said the lawyer.
He said Sun recognises that she had exercised poor judgment “in her impetuous decision” to drive without a valid licence.
He said Fong, who is self-employed, will “never take chances” moving forward and that she will be “strict” in allowing anyone else to drive her car.
Fong has a decent driving record over 10 years of holding her licence, said Mr Dhillon.
He said Fong knew that Sun was already taking driving lessons and the roads were unlikely to be crowded in the middle of the night.
He said the fear the women received from their arrests, police investigations and court attendances has “completely shell-shocked” them, which is in itself a grave punishment.
Mr Dhillon said there was no accident in this case and the distance travelled was “extremely short”.
In sentencing, District Judge Christopher Goh highlighted that the offences they committed were “actually very, very silly”.
“Maybe you’re not aware, you didn’t think of the consequences, but these offences – the court treats them quite seriously,” he said.
“One of the reasons is very simple – there are too many people who don’t think of the effects when they drive without a licence,” he added.
He warned them not to drive while disqualified.
