SINGAPORE: A man drove into a traffic light pole after losing control of his vehicle, and then agreed to swap seats with his passenger so that she would take the blame instead.
On Tuesday (Mar 25), Yuen Zheng Wen, 36, pleaded guilty to one count of careless driving and one count of obstructing justice.
His passenger, Chin Wei Yeeng, 31, was handed two charges in September 2024 for giving false information to the police and obstructing justice. Her case is being heard separately and will be next heard on Apr 17.
On Feb 16, 2024, Yuen had consumed three to four glasses of red wine between 6pm and 10.30pm during a dinner with his colleagues.
After dinner, he offered to give Chin a lift home in his car, which she accepted. However, he lost control of his vehicle at around 10.35pm, while attempting to execute a turn from Moulmein Road onto the Central Expressway.
This resulted in the car mounting the kerb and colliding into a traffic light pole.
It cost S$991.57 (US$741) to repair the damage to the traffic light pole, according to court documents.
After the collision, Chin suggested that she take the blame for the collision and offered to swap seats with Yuen, which he accepted and agreed to.
When traffic police officers arrived at the scene and questioned them, Chin claimed that she was the driver of the vehicle, and that she drank one glass of wine prior to driving the vehicle. Yuen gave the same set of facts to the officers.
As a result of this, a breathalyzer test was administered only on Chin – which she failed. According to court documents, the traffic police officers did not administer a test on Yuen as they were under the assumption that he was not the driver.
Chin was subsequently placed under arrest for driving under the influence of alcohol, while Yuen was allowed to leave and was not brought in for questioning.
Feeling remorseful over the lie, Yuen sought to turn himself in and eventually confessed to the police that he was the driver of the vehicle on Feb 17, 2024 – a day after the incident.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Ryan Lim sought a sentence of between five and eight weeks’ imprisonment and a disqualification from driving for 24 months, arguing that the effect of the conspiracy to obstruct justice was serious.
“With the accused’s colleague claiming that she was the one driving the car, the police consequently neglected to conduct breath analysis on the accused,” said Mr Lim in his submission.
“This rendered it impossible to prove in a court of law that he was driving while above the legal limit. Given that the accused had downed 3 or 4 glasses of wine prior to driving, this was a real possibility.”
In seeking a lighter sentence for his client, defence lawyer Devlin Mohyong pointed out that while Yuen was an offender in this case, the initiative to swap seats did not come from him.
In response, Mr Lim said: “While we accept that offence was not done out of financial incentive, the accused … is the one who stood to benefit. While he did not initiate it, he stood by to allow it to play out.”
Yuen’s sentencing has been adjourned to Apr 17.
