Drunken driver who drove into Woodlands Checkpoint jailed
A woman who had almost four times the legal prescribed limit of alcohol in her system when she drove into Woodlands Checkpoint and mounted a kerb was sentenced to two weeks’ jail on Dec 27.
Rachel Yeo Tingru, 36, was also handed a $9,000 fine and disqualified from driving for 60 months.
She pleaded guilty to one charge of driving without due care and attention and another charge of drink driving.
According to court documents, Yeo had at least 130 microgrammes of alcohol in 100ml of breath, which exceeded the prescribed limit of 35 microgrammes of alcohol in 100ml of breath.
The police prosecutor said Yeo drank two to three glasses of wine in Dempsey on the evening of March 2 before driving to Duxton Road with a friend.
There, she bought more alcohol at a convenience store and drank less than half a can of alcohol.
At around 10pm, she decided to drive to her home in Eunos, but made a wrong turn and ended up at Woodlands Checkpoint.
At the checkpoint, she spoke to an immigration officer while she was still in the car. As she was talking to the officer, her car suddenly surged forward and mounted the kerb.
Footage of the incident was played in court, with the prosecution pointing out that her hands were not on the wheel when the car surged forward.
Yeo was arrested at the checkpoint after failing a breathalyser test.
The prosecutor said Yeo was found to have 3.7 times the prescribed legal limit of alcohol in her system, and added that this was highly excessive and indicated her unfitness to drive.
He said there was heightened potential harm and injury in this case, and it was fortuitous that Yeo did not collide with another car or injure the immigration officer who was nearby.
In mitigation, defence lawyer Mitchell Leon said Yeo was in an extreme state of distress and that surging the car forward was an accidental reaction on her part.
“Any person who is past the point of no return at Woodlands Checkpoint with no passport would be nervous. It was in that state of mind of carelessness and panic that she threw her hands onto her head and lost control of her vehicle.” said Mr Leon.
“This carelessness was driven out of emotional response rather than intoxication,” he added.
Yeo will begin her jail term on Jan 3 after the judge granted an application for her to defer her sentence.
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