Edmund Chen, 64, appeals 5-day jail sentence for careless driving, bail set at S$15,000

Former actor Edmund Chen is appealing his five-day jail sentence for careless driving.

Chen filed a notice of appeal on Feb. 2 and appeared in court on Feb. 6 for the appeal.

Chen is now represented by Kelvin Ong of Contigo Law, after discharging his former lawyers, Josephus Tan and Cory Wong, of Invictus Law.

The defence sought a stay of execution pending appeal against the five-day jail term and the driving disqualification.

The prosecution asked for an uplift to the bail imposed on Chen.

Ong sought the bail to be set at S$15,000.

The judge granted the stay of execution on both the order of imprisonment and the disqualification.

Bail was set at S$15,000, an uplift from the previous amount of S$10,000.

Chen was originally supposed to start serving his jail term on Mar. 9.

Will not drive anymore

Chen spoke to the media afterwards, apologising that he was unable to comment further on the case based on his lawyer's advice.

When asked if he thinks he will ever drive again, Chen said he doesn't think so, saying he will be about 70 by the time five years have passed.

He added that he has the PAssion Silver Concession card, which allows Singapore citizens aged 60 and above to enjoy concessionary fares on public transport.

Pleaded guilty

On Jan. 29, Chen pleaded guilty in court to one count of driving without reasonable consideration for other road users, resulting in an accident.

He was sentenced to five days' imprisonment and was disqualified from driving for five years.

The court heard that Chen was driving on the leftmost lane of the four-lane Ayer Rajah Expressway towards Central Expressway (CTE), on Mar. 4, 2025 afternoon.

The third and fourth lanes led to Keppel Road, while the first and second lanes led to the CTE.

He intended to go to CTE but didn't form up in time and tried to go to the second lane by braking abruptly and attempting to cross the chevron markings in between.

Among other things, he allowed a car to pass him in the third lane before filtering sharply across the third lane.

This caused him to collide with a motorcycle that was overtaking his car, causing grievous hurt to the rider.

The court heard that Chen stopped and immediately rendered assistance to the victim.

The victim was sent to the hospital, where he underwent surgery and was found to have sustained multiple right-hand wrist fractures.

He was given 99 days of hospitalisation leave but did not suffer any permanent disability.

Top photos by Mothership