S'porean man, 46, jailed & fined S$3,600 in M'sia after crashing car into JB restaurant while drunk

On Mar. 5, a 46-year-old Singaporean man made headlines in Malaysia after ramming his multi-purpose vehicle (MPV) into a hotpot restaurant in Johor Bahru.

The aftermath of the incident was caught on camera by an onlooker, and the footage was uploaded to Facebook.

The man has been sentenced to jail and fined.

What video showed

In the video, a black MPV could be seen in the middle of the restaurant, among tables and chairs.

At least six individuals were standing around the MPV.

At one point, the driver, dressed in a white top, reversed his MPV slightly before suddenly driving his MPV forward, prompting onlookers to scream.

After attempting to reverse his MPV two more times, the driver got off and handed it over to an onlooker, dressed in black.

The onlooker subsequently reversed the MPV out of the restaurant towards the parking lot under the driver's watch.

Found to be drink driving

According to Malaysian police, the incident took place at a Thai hotpot restaurant at Jalan Dato Abdullah Tahir at around 10:50pm on Mar. 5, reported China Press.

The location is a 10-minute drive from the causeway.

Besides knocking into table sets and toilet walls in the restaurant, the driver also rammed into another car parked in the public car park when he was reversing his MPV.

When police conducted a blood test on the driver, they found out that he had an alcohol level of 165mg per 100ml of blood.

This exceeds the legal limit of 50mg per 100ml of blood in Malaysia, according to New Straits Times (NST).

Jailed & fined

On Mar. 14, the driver, Sim Kok Siong Daniel, was sentenced to two days' imprisonment and fined RM12,000 (S$3,601) by a Malaysian court after admitting to his offence, reported NST.

His right to hold a Malaysian driving licence was also revoked for two years, effective from Mar. 14.

During court proceedings, Sim, who was self-represented, apologised for his actions and promised never to repeat them.

He also asked for a lighter sentence, saying that he is "the sole breadwinner" of his family.

Although he works as a private-hire vehicle (PHV) driver in Singapore and earns S$5,000 monthly, Sim said he has to support his unemployed wife and three school-going children.

Top images via China Press