Edmund Chen, 64, serves 1-day jail term, reports to prison in morning, gets out at 9pm

Former local actor Edmund Chen, who was previously sentenced to five days' jail for careless driving, had his jail term reduced to one day on Jul. 20, after a partially successful appeal.

According to a report by The Straits Times, Chen began his jail term immediately, and was released from prison at around 9pm later that night.

Chen, who is named in court documents as Tan Kai Yuan, was also disqualified from driving for five years.

He had injured a motorcyclist in March 2025 after colliding with the two-wheeler while changing lanes on the Ayer Rajah Expressway (AYE).

Released from prison at 9:40pm

Chen was released from Changi Prison Complex at about 9:40pm on Jul. 20, ST reported.

Speaking to the media after his release, Chen said in Mandarin: “I regret what I did, and fortunately the motorcyclist is recovering."

He added: "This experience has taught me that traffic safety cannot be taken lightly. I would like to tell other road users to be careful on the roads, because a single choice not only affects you, but also others."

He then thanked the media before leaving with his son, Chen Xi.

He is married to veteran actress Xiang Yun, and the couple also have a daughter, Chen Yixin.

His case

The court previously heard that Chen was driving along the leftmost lane of the four-lane AYE towards Central Expressway (CTE) in the afternoon of Mar. 4, 2025.

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

Intending to continue onto the CTE, Chen failed to position his car in time and instead tried to go into the second lane by braking abruptly and attempting to crossing 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.

In doing so, he collided with a motorcycle that was overtaking his car, causing grievous hurt to the rider.

Chen stopped immediately after the collision and rendered assistance.

The victim was subsequently 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.

District judge may have overstated number of relevant harm and culpability factors

It was previously reported that Justice Hri Kumar Nair had found that the five-day jail term was manifestly excessive.

He said the district judge may have overstated the number of relevant harm and culpability factors, while giving insufficient weight to mitigating factors.

He also noted that Chen had done all he reasonably could do after the collision by stopping promptly, assisting the victim and cooperating with the authorities.

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

At the time, the prosecution had asked for a fine of between S$3,000 and S$5,000.

During the hearing on Jul. 20, Chen's new lawyer argued that the custodial threshold had not been crossed and sought the maximum fine of S$5,000 instead.

Dashcam footage of the incident was played in court, and Chen's lawyer noted that his client had turned his indicator lights on, and that the motorcycle had been temporarily obscured by a passing car as the road curved.

He also argued that the footage showed Chen had crossed the chevron markings only after the collision, challenging one of the district judge's sentencing considerations.

The defence further submitted that the victim's injuries were at the less severe end of the spectrum as they were confined to the wrist and the surgery was done under local anaesthesia.

Counsel said the maximum fine and five-year driving ban would be sufficient punishment, adding that Chen had been deeply traumatised by the incident and was unlikely to drive again.

The prosecution, on the other hand, said the case lay on the borderline between a high fine and a short custodial sentence.

It argued that while the district judge had imposed a sentence at the higher end of the range, there was no error warranting appellate intervention.

The prosecution also said the dashcam footage had shown Chen persisting with the manoeuvre despite being warned by the horns of two passing cars.

This demonstrated an intention to flout traffic rules, they said.

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