Mercedes drink driver who hit pedestrians gets 18 weeks’ jail
A drink driver left behind a trail of devastation after he went behind the wheel on Dec 7, 2017, and ploughed into pedestrians .
The Mercedes-Benz driven by insurance agent Lim Kwong Fei crashed into three men and a woman standing on a centre divider, causing serious injuries, including multiple fractures, to the men.
The 24-year-old woman suffered multiple abrasions and has "very substantial psychiatric difficulties" after the accident. Lim's car almost collided into a girl before it hit a taxi and a lorry, causing nearly $17,000 in damages to the two vehicles.
Lim, 42, was sentenced to 18 weeks' jail yesterday after pleading guilty last week to drink driving and being incapable of having proper control of his car.
He was also disqualified from driving all classes of vehicles for five years.
District Judge Lorraine Ho said yesterday the case was a "sad and unfortunate accident" and Lim had caused serious harm.
She said he had driven in a dangerous manner and the four pedestrians were "thrown into the air" when his car hit them.
She added: "The best policy is, if you drink, don't drive, and if you drive, don't drink... It's better to be safe than sorry."
A search on the General Insurance Association Of Singapore's website did not reveal any information about Lim.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Jarret Huang said Lim was on a private yacht on the day of the accident where he drank at least three cans of beer and a glass of red wine.
After that, he drove to his office at Guoco Tower in Wallich Street, near Maxwell Road, for an event.
The DPP said Lim was "driving at a fast speed relative to the other cars" in Tanjong Pagar Road towards Neil Road and an eyewitness had seen his car moving in a zig-zag manner. Court documents did not state the speed of the car then.
At about 6.20pm, the car mounted a centre divider and ploughed into Singaporeans Merlyn Lim Wei Xuan, 24, and Lim Yew Beng, 57; Myanmar national Nay Lin Tun, 30; and Mr Martin Guillian Noel Faron, 41, an Australian tourist who was in Singapore to celebrate his birthday.
The car crashed into two vehicles before stopping. Police arrested Lim after he failed a breathalyser test.
At Traffic Police headquarters in Ubi Avenue 3 later, he took another test and was found to have at least 31 micrograms of alcohol in 100ml of breath, lower than the prescribed limit of 35 mcg.
The four pedestrians were warded for between one and 22 days. Mr Lim and Mr Nay Lin Tun suffered brain injuries and multiple fractures. Mr Faron, who has since returned to Australia, continues to suffer from weakness in his back.
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