5,176 people arrested in S'pore for drink-driving between 2023 & 2025

In a written reply to a Parliamentary question on Aug. 4, Senior Minister K Shanmugam responded to Workers' Party MP Jamus Lim's question regarding data on the average sentencing outcomes for drink-driving cases over the past three years.

In his question, Lim asked what the average durations of driving bans, fines, and incarceration were in cases of drink-driving in Singapore.

According to SM Shanmugam, who is also the Coordinating Minister for National Security and Minister for Home Affairs, a total of 5,176 people were arrested for drink-driving between 2023 and 2025.

Of these, 3,283 cases resulted in disqualification from driving.

40 cases resulted in lifetime disqualification, while the remaining 3,243 offenders received an average driving ban of 38 months.

Meanwhile, fines were imposed in 3,020 cases, with an average amount of about S$5,200.

Imprisonment was imposed in 647 cases, with an average sentence of 45 days.

SM Shanmugam also noted that arrest and sentencing statistics for a given year are not directly comparable.

This is because people arrested in a particular year may only be charged and/or sentenced in a later year following investigations and court proceedings.

Road Traffic Act 1961

A drink-driving offence refers to an offence under Section 67(1)(b) of the Road Traffic Act 1961, which states that a person commits an offence if they drive or attempt to drive a motor vehicle on a road or other public place with the proportion of alcohol in their breath or blood exceeding the prescribed limit.

Under the Road Traffic Act 1961, a first-time offender is liable, upon conviction, to a fine of not less than S$2,000 and not more than S$10,000, imprisonment for up to 12 months, or both.

A repeat offender is liable to a fine of not less than S$5,000 and not more than S$20,000, and an imprisonment not exceeding two years.