Two men jailed after early-morning 180kmh race on CTE
Two men driving Mitsubishi Evolution 10 sports sedans decided to "play with each other" by racing on the Central Expressway (CTE) at speeds of about 180kmh.
They swerved across lanes and overtook several vehicles while driving at twice the 90kmh speed limit in the early hours of Oct 14 last year.
Business development executive Allan Chia Chee Shin, 39, and Ng Chee Yong, 27, were each jailed for two weeks and disqualified from driving all classes of vehicles for four years after they pleaded guilty to rash driving yesterday.
District Judge Toh Yung Cheong said the sentence should act as a deterrent and send a message to motorists not to endanger the lives of others.
He said the duo would have posed a risk to other motorists as "there were other vehicles on the road" at the time of the offence.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Andre Chong told the court that Chia had met about 15 drivers, including Ng, for a motorcar group gathering at Loyang Temple at about 11.30pm on Oct 13.
When the group went for a spin, Chia and Ng decided to race each other on a four-lane stretch of the CTE between Yio Chu Kang Road and Braddell Road towards the Ayer Rajah Expressway at about 12.50am.
They chased each other at high speeds, cutting across lanes as the CTE broadened to five lanes and narrowed back to four. They overtook almost 10 other vehicles in the process.
A Traffic Police (TP) officer, Staff Sergeant David Yap, recorded their speeds with a laser gun, with Ng found to be driving at 184kmh and Chia at 178kmh.
Staff Sgt Yap managed to stop Chia's car before the CTE exit to Balestier Road and Chia admitted to his offence, DPP Chong said.
TP officers spotted Ng's car at around 3am at East Coast Park, and he was arrested at home after further investigations.
The pair's offences were also caught by their in-car cameras.
DPP Chong said Ng and Chia knew they were driving at fast speeds substantially in excess of the speed limit.
"They did so nonetheless as they intended to 'play' with each other," he added.
For rash driving on a public way, they could have been jailed for up to a year, fined up to $5,000 or both.
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