SINGAPORE, Oct 5 — Despite having his driving licence revoked in 2019 for accumulating too many demerit points, David Wong Yong Soon went back behind the wheel and got into an accident at Woodlands Checkpoint later that year.
He then lied that his mother was driving at the time.
More than two years later, he caused another accident, this time seriously injuring two pedestrians who were jaywalking.
Yesterday, Wong, now aged 22, was sentenced to a short detention order of seven days.
Offenders who receive this community-based sentence will have to serve time behind bars, but they will have no criminal record when released.
Wong was also disqualified from driving all classes of vehicles for five years.
He pleaded guilty to five charges that included giving false information to a public servant and causing grievous hurt while driving without due care and attention. Two other charges were taken into consideration for sentencing.
His lawyer, who sought a high fine, told the court that Wong intends to appeal the sentence. He remains out on bail of S$20,000 (RM65,107).
The court heard that the incident at Woodlands Checkpoint happened on December 7, 2019.
Wong and Nato Ooi Lye Teong, a 47-year-old Malaysian, had cleared immigration when they collided with each other. Both refused to give way to each other when their lanes merged and Nato Ooi wanted to drive ahead of Wong.
Their vehicles were slightly damaged from the impact.
Wong alighted from his car and confronted the other driver. He then used his hand to hit Nato Ooi’s car, cracking the windscreen and causing a dent above the headlight.
Wong’s driving licence had been revoked in June that year after he accumulated more than 12 demerit points while on probation for his Class 3A licence.
He has since compensated Nato Ooi with RM6,300 (about S$1,900) for the cost of repairs for Nato Ooi’s car.
When a police investigation officer took his statement about two weeks later, Wong lied that his mother had been driving.
Then on March 24 this year, Wong was driving along Cantonment Road when he approached a pedestrian crossing beside Pinnacle@Duxton housing estate in Tanjong Pagar.
Court documents did not state if his driving licence had been reinstated.
The traffic light was green in Wong’s favour but two pedestrians, aged 22, disobeyed the signals and began crossing the road.
Wong failed to keep a proper lookout and collided with them. Visibility was clear and the road surface was dry at the time.
The pedestrians were flung about a car length away from the impact. When Wong alighted and saw they were injured, he called the police.
An ambulance took the victims to Singapore General Hospital. One of them was warded for four days and given 98 days of hospitalisation leave after suffering an ankle fracture, while the other had a traumatic brain injury and minor wounds.
He was warded for three weeks and given 66 days of hospitalisation leave.
Anyone convicted of causing grievous hurt while driving without due care and attention can be jailed up to two years or fined up to S$5,000, or both. Offenders will also be disqualified from driving for at least five years. — TODAY
