Jail and fine for ex-national basketball player for causing accident
A former Singapore national basketball player has been sentenced to five days’ jail and a fine of $5,000 after he caused an accident while drink driving.
Toh Qing Huang, 29, was not spared jail time despite his lawyer asking the judge to consider his “history of service to the nation”.
He pleaded guilty on July 23 to one count of drink driving and one count of driving without due care and attention.
Toh, who represented Singapore in the 2023 SEA Games in Cambodia, was also disqualified from holding or obtaining driving licences for 36 months from his date of release.
A breath analysing device test conducted at the Police Cantonment Complex on the day of the accident in November 2023 found Toh had 69 micrograms of alcohol per 100ml of breath, almost twice the legal limit of 35 micrograms.
The court heard that Toh, who was drinking in a bar at Hotel Chancellor in Cavenagh Road at around 11pm on Nov 29, had downed six glasses of alcoholic drinks.
He stopped drinking at about 3am the next day and headed to a nearby eatery for supper. At about 4am, Toh started driving to his home in Toh Yi Drive in Bukit Timah.
As he drove by a cross junction at Orchard Boulevard, he made a sharp right turn. The car veered across two lanes, mounted the centre divider and hit a directional sign.
A police officer arrived at the scene and noticed that Toh reeked of alcohol. He failed a breathalyser test and was arrested for drink driving.
Toh paid $290 to the Land Transport Authority as repair costs for the damaged sign.
The police prosecutor asked for Toh to be fined $5,000 and jailed for one to two weeks, on top of the disqualification period.
Illustrating the potential danger of his actions, the prosecutor said Toh’s intended route from Cavenagh Road to Toh Yi Drive was about 11km, which was “not a short distance of (driving) at all”.
Toh’s lawyer, Mr Desmond Tan from Lee & Lee, argued for his client to be given only a fine instead of jail.
Mr Tan said no one was injured in the accident, and Toh was not speeding or driving erratically.
Asking for credit to be given to Toh for representing the nation in many international tournaments for almost 15 years, the lawyer said: “He has assisted and served the nation in this respect.”
Chief executive officer of the Basketball Association of Singapore (BAS) Leon Neo also submitted a testimonial on Toh’s behalf, describing him as a “role model and inspiration to many aspiring athletes”.
District Judge Shawn Ho was unmoved. He noted that Toh’s alcohol level was double the prescribed limit, and decided that his offence of driving without due care or attention warranted a jail sentence.
At the same time, Judge Ho said he acknowledged Toh’s early plea of guilt, remorse and cooperation with the authorities, and gave him a sentencing discount.
According to Team Singapore’s website, Toh also represented Singapore in the 5x5 team at the 2015 and 2019 SEA Games.
In response to The Straits Times’ queries, Mr Neo from BAS said in an e-mail that Toh does not have an existing agreement with the association. Hence, BAS did not take any disciplinary action against him.
About whether Toh will be representing Singapore in the upcoming competitions, Mr Neo said: “As the draft of (the) 2024 national team is not completed, we do not know if Toh will be selected again for the national team.”
Get The New Paper on your phone with the free TNP app. Download from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store now