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SINGAPORE: State courts apologized to a man who spent two more days in prison than he should due to an error by a judicial official.
Teo Seng Tiong, 59, was jailed earlier this year after being convicted of diverting his truck onto a bicyclist and failing to make a police report within 24 hours of the accident.
The incident, which occurred along Pasir Ris Drive 3 towards New Loyang Link on December 22 of last year, was recorded on video. Clips showing part of the altercation had gone viral.
READ: Truck driver in viral collision with cyclist loses appeal, to serve jail sentence
Teo was sentenced to seven weeks in jail and a fine of S $ 500, with an additional three days in prison if he did not pay the fine. He was also banned from driving for two years.
Teo appealed against his conviction, but it was dismissed and he began serving his sentence on July 20.
That same day, the fine was paid in the Superior Court, which notified the State Courts of the payment that day, the State Courts said in a statement to the media on Wednesday (September 2).
“However, the State Courts official in charge of the case erroneously failed to update the compromise order and the State Courts case management system to reflect that the fine had been paid,” the statement said.
When the Singapore Prison Service asked on August 21 and 22 whether the fine had been paid, state courts said no – the case management system was not updated due to an officer error.
Because of this, Teo also served the predetermined prison sentence.
“While the default prison sentence imposed by the court was three days, the actual default prison sentence served by Mr. Teo was two days, as a third of the sentence was remitted,” the state courts said, and they added that he was released on August 24.
Teo’s fine payment was only discovered after the Singapore Prison Service sent a letter from his lawyer on August 24, attaching the payment receipt.
In their statement, state courts said they took “immediate steps” to review the labor processes governing fines for cases that have been appealed to the Superior Court.
State courts have since put in place additional safeguards, such as additional levels of controls, and began an internal review of the matter, they said, adding that “appropriate action” would be taken, including disciplinary action, depending on the outcome of the review.
“The state courts deeply regret what happened and we have transmitted our letter of apology to Mr. Teo through the Attorney General’s Office,” they added.
