S'pore man, 46, caught driving without licence & using phone after getting into accident in 2017 that killed wife

Seven years after getting into a speeding accident that killed his wife and injured his three sons, a man was found driving without a licence and while using his phone.

Garrick Eng Kwan Meng, now 46, was previously sentenced in September 2025 after pleading guilty.

He had to pay a S$5,000 fine and was disqualified from holding any driving licence for two years, Shin Min Daily News reported.

The prosecutor, dissatisfied with this sentence, appealed to the court for a stricter one.

On Apr. 22, 2026, the judge changed Eng's sentence to four months in prison and raised his driving licence suspension to three years, according to Shin Min.

The fatal accident

Eng first had his driving licence revoked due to the speeding accident that led to his wife's death.

On Jun. 18, 2017, he was driving with his family on the Seletar Expressway when he sped and lost control, causing the car to skid and crash into a guardrail, Shin Min reported.

His 38-year-old wife, sitting at the back, was flung out of the window and died at the scene.

His three sons, aged 4, 7, and 10, were not using child seats and were injured.

The court heard that at the time, Eng was driving at about 108 to 109km/h before the collision, on a road with an 80km/h speed limit.

Eng pleaded guilty to seven charges, including negligent driving that led to a death and injuries, and failing to secure his sons in child seats.

He was ultimately not sentenced to jail, with the judge saying the accident caused great suffering to him.

The prosecutor then also did not seek a jail sentence.

Eng was instead fined S$12,000 and disqualified from holding a licence for five years.

Failed his driving theory test

On Oct. 24, 2024, the traffic police caught Eng driving a rented van on Braddell Road while using his phone.

He admitted that he did not have a driving licence, and said he still had not managed to get a new one by that time because he did not pass the basic theory test (BTT).

The prosecutor, appealing for a stricter sentence of three to four weeks in jail and two years' driver licence suspension, pointed out Eng's earlier conviction for causing the fatal accident, and that he continued to drive despite failing the BTT.

His crime was more serious than simply driving without a licence, the prosecutor argued, as reported by Shin Min.

Asked for leniency

Eng, pleading for leniency, told the court he recently discovered he has been dealing with depression since his wife passed, and it hindered his ability to pass the driving test.

When he first got his licence previously, he passed the BTT on his second try, and the final theory test (FTT) on his first, he said.

He added that he was struggling financially and still has to raise three children, so the S$5,000 fine was already a great punishment for him.

He has also been receiving treatment for depression, taking medication for over a year now.

However, the judge ultimately increased the sentence and said the S$5,000 fine Eng had already paid would be refunded to him.

Delivering the verdict, the judge explained that driving offences would be more severe for people who had their licence revoked than for those who had never held a licence.

Eng was granted a one-month extension before starting his jail sentence, and is currently out on a S$10,000 bail until then.

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