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SINGAPORE: A man assaulted a taxi driver after a road dispute and then violated COVID-19 laws by sending food to a woman during the “circuit breaker” and driving home drunk.
On five counts of willfully causing injury, speeding, driving under the influence and violating COVID-19 social laws, Wong Teck Chye, 47, was sentenced Thursday (October 22) to three weeks in jail, a fine of S $ 6,000 and a two-year driving ban.
The court heard that Wong was driving his Porsche Panamera alongside a taxi driver carrying a passenger down Sungei Road on August 8, 2019.
Both vehicles entered Bencoolen Street and Wong misjudged his right turn when the taxi driver passed in front of him, scraping his left wheel on the curb of the road.
Unhappy with the taxi driver’s driving and thinking that he had caused his Porsche to hit the curb, Wong followed the taxi and got off at Bencoolen Link to confront the victim.
They argued until the taxi driver told him that he did not want to argue further and told him to report the matter to the police if he wanted to.
When the taxi driver tried to close the door to leave, Wong’s arm grabbed the door and slammed it open before kicking and hitting the victim.
Wong then left and the victim went to the hospital with a swollen cheek.
On April 24 of this year, when the “circuit breaker” was set to prohibit non-essential social gatherings, Wong left his home before 4 pm to meet a friend.
He did so because he was “stressed from work and wanted to talk to someone,” Deputy Prosecutor Kor Zhen Hong said.
They had dinner at his house and drank beer together, and Wong left after midnight after drinking five cans of Carlsberg.
A traffic police officer noticed that the Porsche was moving at an unusually fast speed along the Tampines highway, which had a speed limit of 90 km / h.
READ: COVID-19: Man accused of sending food to a friend’s house, eating with her and driving under the influence of alcohol
He recorded the speed at 133 km / h on the speedometer of his traffic police motorcycle and stopped Wong near Punggol Way.
Wong failed a breathalyzer test and was taken to the traffic police headquarters, where 43 micrograms of alcohol were found in 100 ml of his breath, exceeding the 35 microgram limit.
The prosecutor asked for at least four weeks in jail, a fine of S $ 7,000 and a 33-month driving ban.
Mr. Kor said that Wong had met his friend for “the completely frivolous and unnecessary purpose of dining and drinking alcohol.”
Defense attorney Stanley Bay objected to the prosecution’s characterization of the taxi incident as a case of road rage, saying his client had reacted after the door was closed on him.
He added that the fact that Wong had followed the taxi did not automatically mean an intention to hurt the taxi driver.
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