S'porean private hire driver, 39, cuts in front of cars & brakes, gets 28 days' jail & 30-month driving ban

A 39-year-old Singaporean man was sentenced on Jun. 22, 2026, to 28 days' jail and banned from driving for 30 months after he cut in front of moving vehicles on the road and braked.

CNA reported that Desmond Teo Wei Kiat pleaded guilty to one count of driving dangerously, with a second charge taken into consideration during sentencing.

Charge sheets and court documents seen by Mothership stated that the private-hire driver, who had a history of traffic violations, first cut in front of a taxi and braked repeatedly.

At the time, the taxi driver tried to avoid him, but their vehicles later collided.

CNA reported that though this caused Teo to be arrested and released on bail, he still cut into another driver's lane in a separate incident and braked abruptly.

2023 incident

Charge sheets and court documents stated that the incident involving the taxi occurred at about 4:25am on Dec. 29, 2023.

A 41-year-old taxi driver had been driving from Tampines Expressway (Seletar Expressway) to Sengkang East Road, with Teo ahead of the cabby.

After Teo switched from the first to the second lane, the taxi driver overtook him.

This made Teo feel that the taxi driver had encroached into his lane and forced him to brake in order to avoid contact between the vehicles.

Shortly after, the taxi driver took the exit and drove along Sengkang East Road towards Buangkok Green.

The taxi driver then stopped at a red light at the junction of Sengkang East Road and Compassvale Street and was the first vehicle in the fourth lane.

Trying to avoid contact

In addition, Teo followed the taxi driver and drove his car along the fifth lane.

He then cut into the fourth lane in front of the taxi, where he stopped his vehicle diagonally in front of the taxi driver as Teo wanted to turn right at the next junction.

As a result, to avoid contact, the taxi driver was forced to move his taxi slightly to the right.

When the traffic light turned green, Teo drove off, braking abruptly four times in short succession before driving straight along Sengkang East Road towards Buangkok Green.

Collision

After the taxi driver followed behind Teo and began to switch lanes, Teo also did the same and braked abruptly, forcing the taxi driver to brake to avoid a collision with Teo.

When the vehicles approached the junction of Sengkang East Road and Sengkang East Way, the taxi driver, who intended to turn right, was in lane one, a right-turn-only lane.

A lorry that drove on lane two separated Teo, who was driving along lane three.

Teo then cut in front of the lorry when the taxi driver turned right, where he collided with the taxi while veering right towards the cabby.

CNA reported that the taxi driver, whose taxi was scratched and dented, alighted and examined the damage, which the driver paid S$2,900 to repair.

However, Teo did not alight from his vehicle and drove off at about 4:31am.

Court documents stated that Teo was arrested on May 7, 2025, and released on bail the same day.

2025 incident

In another incident, at about 7:10am on Dec. 9, 2025, Teo and a 44-year-old female driver were both driving along Pasir Panjang Road towards Clementi.

When Teo switched lanes in front of her, she flashed her high beam lights at him several times as she felt he had cut into her lane.

In response, Teo braked abruptly and veered slightly to the left, which forced the woman to also brake abruptly to avoid contact.

When the woman switched to another lane away from Teo, he swerved into her lane without signalling and braked abruptly again.

This forced her to also brake abruptly and swerve into another lane to avoid contact.

However, Teo veered partially into her lane and braked abruptly again, forcing her once again to brake abruptly to avoid contact.

He did this because he wished to stop the woman from confronting her over her flashing of high beams at him.

Court documents stated that at the time of the offence, the weather was good.

In addition, the road surface was dry, visibility was clear, and the volume of traffic was light.

Court

In seeking five to 10 weeks' jail and 24 months' disqualification from driving for Teo, the deputy public prosecutor (DPP) noted that Teo had engaged in a sustained pattern of dangerous driving in the two incidents.

The DPP added that Teo, who has a poor driving record, has multiple compounded traffic offences, including speeding, driving without reasonable consideration and careless driving.

This refers to traffic violations paid with out-of-court fines, CNA reported.

In asking for five weeks' jail instead, Teo's lawyer said that though his client's actions were due to a lapse in judgment, he cooperated fully with the authorities during investigations, according to CNA.

According to CNA, the lawyer added that Teo, who is employed as a limo and private-hire vehicle driver, was grieving the loss of his younger brother, which also saw the family facing significant financial hardship due to substantial outstanding mortgage obligations.

He was also facing acute emotional distress in his current divorce proceedings, his lawyer said.

Penalties

CNA reported that in view of Teo's poor driving record, District Judge Lorraine Ho imposed a longer driving ban than what the prosecution sought.

Noting that there were elements of road rage in his actions, she said Teo had driven in a "rather aggressive" manner.

For dangerous driving, he could have been jailed for up to 12 months, fined up to S$5,000 and given a driving ban.