Follow us on Telegram for the latest updates: https://t.me/mothershipsg
IndoChine group CEO Michael Ma Zhen Hu was fined S$3,500 for a charge of dangerous driving when he avoided a roadblock along Clemenceau Avenue by reversing 50m and U-turning away.
The 55-year-old Ma, an Australian holding Singaporean permanent residency, has since paid the fine, but is appealing a disqualification order of 15 months.
Female customer 'drunk & distraught'
According to a written judgment, the incident happened on Apr. 16, 2021, around 12:13am.
Ma had left his restaurant at Club Street with a female customer who he claimed was "drunk and distraught".
He decided to send her back home in his Audi e-tron GT. On the way back, she requested to be sent to a friend's house around River Valley.
Police spotted him reversing
The police officers at the roadblock set up at Clemenceau Avenue towards Penang Road spotted his car stopping behind a queue of vehicles about 50m to 100m away.
They saw him turn on his hazard lights and reverse against the flow of traffic for about 50m before he made a U-turn through the U-turn point, which is a gap within the road divider.
A vehicle had to swerve away to avoid a collision.
The officers gave chase, but while they did not manage to stop him, they took down his car plate number.
The police called him up for investigations the next day.
Claimed he didn't know there was a roadblock
After pleading guilty to a dangerous driving charge, Ma claimed in his mitigation plea that he "had no knowledge" of the roadblock.
He claimed he wanted to U-turn as he "realised that he was driving in the wrong direction".
Ma said he saw no vehicles behind him before he "slowly reversed".
His lawyer argued that a fine of S$2,000 and a disqualification period of six months would have been sufficient.
He would have seen flashing blue and red lights: Prosecution
The prosecution pointed out that Ma would have "at least suspected" that there was a roadblock as from where he was, he would have seen flashing blue and red lights and at least one officer running towards him when he tried to take off.
The prosecutor submitted for a fine between S$3,000 to S$4,000 and asked for Ma to be disqualified from driving for 18 to 24 months.
She highlighted Ma's chequered driving record since 1999, which included not conforming to traffic lights and drink driving, and he was caught beating a red light again in November 2021.
"Cavalier attitude" towards road safety: Judge
In the judgment, District Judge Kamala Ponnampalam explained that while the prosecution and the defence agreed on a fine, she elaborated on why she also agreed not to send Ma to jail.
She accepted that there was no property damage to other vehicles or structures on the road due to his actions, even though the level of danger posed by his driving was considerable, and it was clear he had no regard for the safety of other motorists.
While she also agreed with the prosecution that Ma's bad driving record demonstrated a "cavalier attitude" towards road safety, she believed a sufficiently high fine of S$3,500 would be enough.
Disqualification from driving important
On ordering 15 months of driving disqualification for Ma, the judge emphasised that it's important to deter him from offending again and protect the public based on the amount of danger he poses to society with his driving.
She pointed out that the potential harm Ma could have caused by reversing against the flow of traffic was significant.
She highlighted that Clemenceau Avenue is "not a minor road but a major thoroughfare", which could have several motorists travelling on it late at night.
She felt it was "purely fortuitous" that the motorist driving up behind Ma was alert enough to switch lanes to avoid a collision.
The judge also pointed out that Ma has a "long list" of previous driving offences, which shows a "pattern of persistent reoffending" over 22 years and an "increased boldness" of his offending behaviour.
The case will be heard in the High Court at a later date.
Top images via screenshot of Grenzenlos - Die Welt Entdecken on Facebook/SuperTree by IndoChine & Facebook/Singapore Police Force