A Google Cloud director, Jonathan David Rees, got into trouble for driving into a pole near the Supreme Court in Singapore.

The 46-year-old Australian had downed four to five cans of beer before attempting to make his way home in a rented car.

He ended up driving straight into a directional sign and a pedestrian beacon pole near the Supreme Court.

Hit pole and sign

Court documents state that Rees was drinking with friends at a bar along Robinson Road on the night of Mar. 22, 2024. He took his last sip at about 10pm, then climbed into a leased car.

The prosecutor highlighted that Rees did so despite being aware that drink driving was an offence in Singapore.

At around 11pm, Rees was keeping to the leftmost lane along Parliament Place, intending to turn left into Supreme Court Lane.

He never made the turn.

Instead, he drove straight into a sign and a pole beside a zebra crossing, which was located just outside the Supreme Court. His car mounted the kerb and stopped near a lamp post along Parliament Place.

This was the aftermath:

The front left tyre of Rees' car was damaged, and both the right tyres were punctured.

It later cost the Land Transport Authority (LTA) S$589.36 to repair the pole and the sign.

Rees subsequently made full restitution to LTA.

Failed breathalyser test

Supreme Court security guards and the traffic police soon arrived at the scene.

Since Rees' breath reeked of alcohol, he had to take a breathalyser test, which came back with a "red" result, indicating he had consumed alcohol.

Rees was then arrested and brought back to the traffic police headquarters.

A breath analysing device found 79 mg of alcohol per 100ml of his breath, well above the legal limit of 35 mg.

On Aug. 21, 2024, Rees pleaded guilty to one count each of drink driving and driving a car without due care and attention under the Road Traffic Act.

"Clearly had the means" to take alternative transport

For drink driving, Rees could have been jailed for up to 12 months and fined between S$2,000 and S$10,000.

Rees got slapped with a jail term of two weeks and a fine of S$7,000, CNA reported.

He was also banned from driving for three to four years.

Considering that Rees had consumed four to five cans of beer, and drove off less than an hour after his last drink, the prosecution deemed him "highly culpable".

"He could have chosen to do the responsible thing after approximately four hours of drinking, which was to engage a valet service and find alternative transport home," said the prosecutor.

"He clearly had the means to do so, by virtue of his occupation as a director of Google Cloud."

Top images via court documents