Jail for man who drove through Bedok Camp barrier
After drinking 10 cans of beer, a private-hire driver decided to drive a car into Bedok Camp in Upper East Coast Road to “see the reaction of the security”.
Muhammad Sathiq Mohamed Sadakatulla arrived outside the camp at around 6am on Dec 20, 2023, but security did not raise the entry barrier for him.
Sathiq then drove through the barrier and entered the camp, before turning and crashing through an exit barrier.
After he was arrested at home, he was found to have 36 micrograms of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath. This is slightly above the prescribed limit of 35 micrograms of alcohol in the same amount of breath.
Later, while out on bail, Sathiq assaulted two policemen in September 2024 after consuming beer in an unrelated incident.
On Dec 18, 2024, the 38-year-old Singaporean was sentenced to 20 weeks’ jail after he pleaded guilty to one count of entering a protected place without a permit and two counts of assaulting a police officer.
The prosecution said that on Dec 19, 2023, after dropping off a passenger at around 8.30pm, Sathiq drank two cans of beer, followed by another four, before heading home.
Between 2am and 3am on Dec 20, 2023, he got into an argument and the police were alerted due to noise complaints. Details about the argument were not disclosed in court documents.
Sathiq then consumed another four cans of beer and became drunk thereafter.
The court heard that Sathiq, despite being intoxicated, made a conscious decision to drive to Bedok Camp where he created a ruckus.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Darren Sim said: “He proceeded to drive through the barrier, and drove about 50m into Bedok Camp, before making a U-turn and driving out of the camp at a high speed, crashing through an exit barrier that had not been raised for his exit.”
He was arrested and released on bail on Dec 21, 2023.
On Sept 8, 2024, he consumed multiple cans of beer with a friend in Jalan Minyak near Havelock Road and was drunk when he travelled to Geylang.
When he was near a Hotel 81 branch at around 3am the next day, he called the police and said: “I want to go inside lock-up... I called police and no one came... You find my location.
“I need to whack (a) policeman, then you will arrest me. I want to go in and clear my name.”
A group of police officers arrived at the scene and two of them tried to calm him down.
Sathiq then headbutted one of the policemen and punched another one multiple times.
Both officers responded by drawing their batons and ordering him to lie down. He complied and was re-arrested.
Each of the two officers was given two days of medical leave.
Sathiq was represented by defence lawyers Amarick Gill and S. Ramanujen from the Amarick Gill law firm.
On Dec 18, both the prosecution and the defence asked the court to sentence him to five months’ jail.
In the mitigation plea, the lawyers stated: “(Sathiq) has had a strained relationship with his family and his divorce had significantly impacted his well-being.
“As a way to cope with these stressors, he began consuming copious amounts of alcohol. He understands that this is no excuse for his behaviour.”
They also said that he is remorseful and had pleaded guilty at the earliest opportunity.
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