A 35-year-old driver is appealing his sentence after he was sentenced to seven years in jail for killing one person and injuring six others in an accident after drink driving on the night of Dec. 23, 2021.

Jeremiah Ng En You, 35, was also handed a driving ban for 12 years on Oct. 31, 2023.

According to a court judgment made available to the public on Nov. 24, the district judge called the case "one of the worst in recent memory".

Background

On Dec. 23, 2021, Ng had been having dinner and drinks with his twin brother at his office.

Ng consumed four cans of beer before leaving his office along Tampines Street 93 for his residence in Serangoon, driving his twin brother's red Mercedes while he sat in the front passenger seat.

Lost control of car while turning left at high speed

At around 11pm, Ng was speeding at around 157 to 169 kilometres per hour along Tampines Avenue 1 before slowing down to 122 to 130 kilometres per hour near the junction of Tampines Avenue 10 to make a left turn.

Ng lost control of the car while attempting the left turn.

Instead, the car went straight ahead, causing it to collide with a white car.

The impact caused the white car to hit surrounding vehicles in a chain collision, sandwiching a motorcycle.

Killed 1 Gojek driver, injured 6 passengers

The driver of the white car was a 59-year-old Gojek driver, Kenn Wong Mun Soon, who passed away at Changi General Hospital on Dec. 24, 2021, at 12:01am.

His two passengers, 25 and 24, were injured with multiple lacerations and bruises all over their bodies. One of them had glass shards pulled out of his wound, while the other had retrograde amnesia and a mild head injury.

The 25-year-old motorcyclist caught between the cars had lacerations all over his body, traumatic brain injury, spinal injury and leg fractures.

He was hospitalised for 66 days and afterwards given 95 days of hospitalisation leave and 125 days of medical leave.

A medical report dated Mar. 28, 2023, showed he still experiences stiffness in his right knee and left ankle and decreased endurance in performing strenuous lower limb activities.

Two other car drivers, 39 and 42, and a taxi driver, 42, were also injured.

'Ruined the lives of everyone who had the misfortune to cross his path': Prosecution

Ng pleaded guilty to a drink driving charge and a charge of dangerous driving causing death. Three other dangerous driving charges were taken into consideration for sentencing.

The prosecution asked for a sentence of eight to 10 years in prison and at least 12 years of driving disqualification for Ng.

They said Ng's "selfish and reckless actions" "ruined the lives of everyone who had the misfortune to cross his path", and any sentence imposed "must sufficiently reflect society’s disapprobation of such foolish and feckless conduct".

They highlighted a previous High Court case where the judge observed that "the causing of injury to others – and even more so, death – by a drunk driver represents the very evil that the ban on drunk driving was intended to prevent".

The prosecution said that the harm caused by Ng's actions was "very serious" — categorising the accident as "one of the most serious in recent memory" — as he not only caused the death of an innocent driver but also serious injuries to other road users.

Despite already causing serious harm, they said there was still a high degree of potential harm from Ng's actions as it was merely "fortuitous" that four other passengers and many other vehicles in the immediate vicinity were left relatively unscathed.

They noted that Ng driving at "an absurdly high speed while intoxicated" made an accident a more likely event and also "exponentially increased the severity of any accident that occurred" — which was exactly what happened.

His bulky boots slipped off: Lawyer

Ng's lawyer pleaded for a sentence of four to four years and six months.

According to Ng's defence lawyer, Ng stopped drinking by about 10pm and apparently did not feel inebriated and was walking with a steady gait.

He then "regrettably" decided to drive himself and his twin brother home, travelling on the same route he was "extremely familiar" with for the last 12 years.

The lawyer then said that at the left turn, Ng attempted to slow down, but his "foot in his bulky safety boots slipped off the brake pedals and onto the accelerator and caused an abrupt acceleration".

Offering over S$380,000 compensation to victims

Ng's lawyer said that Ng was "extremely guilt-ridden" and that while it was "fortuitous for him not to have suffered any grave injuries", he has been "suffering from immense emotional stress and has not been able to function properly".

The lawyer also said Ng feels "most apologetic to the deceased’s family and wishes there was more he could do to make it up to them".

The defence highlighted that Ng had made compensation of $120,452.79 to some of the victims, with an estimated outstanding claim of $262,718.29

"One of the worst in recent memory": Judge

The judge agreed with the prosecution that the accident was "one of the worst in recent memory", that Ng had caused the "death of an innocent driver, which is the gravest harm possible", and also "caused serious injuries to multiple other road users".

She agreed that it was "fortuitous" that no one else was hurt despite his dangerous manner of driving and pointed out that he intended to continue driving for at least another 10 kilometres back to his home.

On Ng's assertion that his "bulky safety boots slipped off", the judge agreed with the prosecution that the explanation was not supported by any objective evidence.

She said reports showed that Ng more likely failed to navigate the turn as he travelled at an excessively high speed before reaching the junction and consequently lost control of his car.

Familiarity is not license to 'Grand Prix' on the roads: Judge

The judge highlighted that the Road Traffic Act was amended on Nov. 1, 2019, to provide stronger deterrence against irresponsible driving, according to the explanation presented in parliament.

She said that irresponsible driving can have deadly consequences and that even if the victims survived, they or their families may suffer long-term problems, sometimes medical, sometimes permanent disabilities.

"A clear signal must be sent to motorists who have a blatant disregard for the safety of other road users," the judge said, adding that being "extremely familiar" with the roads was not a "license for him to treat our roads like the Grand Prix driving circuit."

Top image from Roads.sg/Facebook and SGRV/Facebook.

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