A 59-year-old lorry driver who was wrongly jailed for two extra days has signed a confidential agreement for an undisclosed compensation sum from the government, The Straits Times (ST) reported.
Teo Seng Tiong, however, was unable to elaborate on the compensation, citing the confidentiality agreement that he had signed.
Teo had been slapped with a S$500 fine, a two-year driving ban, and seven weeks' in prison after he was found guilty of deliberately swerving his lorry into a cyclist in a high-profile December 2018 case.
The incident happened in Pasir Ris.
Fine payment not registered in system
He was jailed longer than warranted because the case management system said he did not pay his S$500 fine, although Teo had done so on July 20, the same day he started his imprisonment.
"However, the State Courts officer in charge of the case erroneously failed to update the warrant of commitment and the State Courts’ case management system to reflect that the fine had been paid," said the State Courts in a media statement.
The Singapore Prison Service then asked the State Courts on August 21 and 22 if the fine had been paid. The State Courts said no because the case management system was not updated due to the error.
Non-payment would necessitate an extra three days' jail in Teo's case. He ultimately served two extra days because one-third of the term was remitted.
As such, Teo served the extra jail term for a total of 37 days and was released on August 24.
Teo told Shinmin Daily News (SMDN) that this took a mental toll on him, and he was unable to sleep well as he kept thinking about what could have gone wrong.
The payment was only discovered after the Singapore Prison Service forwarded a letter from Teo's lawyer, which contained the payment receipt.
State courts apologises, voices regret
Subsequently, the State Courts stated that it deeply regretted what happened in its written apology.
Teo's lawyer released a statement on Sep. 2, saying that Teo's two extra days locked up were "especially agonising" as he lived in uncertainty and in a small cell for four prisoners.
The State Courts told CNA that immediate steps have been taken to review the work processes for cases with fines that have gone on appeal to the High Court.
Additional safeguards such as extra checks, as well as an internal review of the matter, have been started.
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Left image from Teo Seng Tiong Facebook, right by photo by Matthias Ang