Lamborghini used in illegal race to be forfeited to state, court rules

SINGAPORE — A Lamborghini driven by an Indonesian man in an illegal race in 2015 will be forfeited to the state, the court ruled on Thursday (Nov 9).

The car, which was used by 24-year-old Kevin Pratama Chandra, had been bought under the name of his parents’ company, the court heard.

Given that the car was used in the commission of the offence, and was seized by the police, it is mandatory under the law that the car be forfeited to the state, Deputy Public Prosecutor Tan Zhongshan said.

District Judge Lorraine Ho, in her ruling, said that if the company of Kevin’s parents is concerned that the forfeiture would bring about financial loss, “then the company should have not bought the Lamborghini in the first place”.

Kevin’s parents told reporters that they were “disappointed” with the court’s decision.

In July this year, Kevin admitted to one count of dangerous driving, and another count of taking part in the unauthorised speed trial, which happened in the early hours of May 9, 2015.

He had claimed trial at first, but later pleaded guilty on the first day of the trial. Two other counts of similar offences were taken into consideration during sentencing. He was jailed two weeks, fined S$1,500, and disqualified from driving for 18 months.

Earlier in April this year, Koo Kwok En, who took part in the race with Kevin, was sentenced to two weeks’ jail, fined S$2,500, and received an 18-month driving ban.

On May 8, 2015, traffic police officers were conducting an operation to detect illegal racing activities along the three-lane Seletar Link at around 11.30pm, when they spotted a convoy of 20 high-performance cars entering the area. Kevin was part of the group.

Koo, a food-and-beverage manager who was driving a Nissan GTR, then asked Kevin to race against him.

The officers observed that the two men drove off along Seletar Link in the direction of Tampines Expressway. They made an unauthorised U-turn near a lamp post, before reversing and positioning themselves next to each other.

The race then began on Kevin’s cue, and the two men sped off in front of some spectators.

Both cars were travelling at speeds close to 220km/h, more than three times the 60km/h speed limit for that stretch of road.

Some 800m later, the race ended, and the duo made a U-turn before racing each other again.

They were nabbed by the traffic police after that.

For illegal racing, Kevin and Koo could each have been jailed up to six months and fined up to S$2,000.

For dangerous driving, they each could have been jailed a year and fined up to S$3,000.