SINGAPORE — When confronted by undercover Health Sciences Authority (HSA) officers over alleged vape selling, Cai Zhixiang wound up his car window, trapping one of the officer's hands, then drove off.

The officer had to run along with the vehicle to avoid being dragged, before he managed to break free of the vehicle. He was not injured in the incident.

For his actions, Cai, 34, was sentenced on Wednesday (Oct 19) to two weeks' jail after pleading guilty to committing a rash act.  

Cai did not face charges relating to vape selling.

HOW IT HAPPENED 

The court heard that the undercover officer, Mohamed Faizal Mohamed Rafi, 35, had arranged to conduct plainclothes ambush operations with three other HSA officers to meet with a vape seller on March 8, 2021.

Mr Faizal had earlier posed as a vape buyer and struck a deal via messaging application Telegram.

At about 8.30pm that day, the vape seller told Mr Faizal to approach his vehicle parked at a car park in Bukit Batok East Avenue 4. 

Mr Faizal then approached the vehicle at the driver’s window side while his colleagues went to the other side. 

Cai was the only one in the car at the time and he wound down the driver’s side window to speak to Mr Faizal. 

During their conversation, Mr Faizal’s colleague identified himself as a HSA officer.

As Mr Faizal reached into Cai’s car through the side window, Cai wound up the window, trapping the officer's left hand in between the car frame and window. 

'THOUGHT HE WAS PUTTING ME IN HARM’S WAY'

In his mitigation plea, Cai admitted to winding up the window when Mr Faizal reached his hand into his car.

“But the reason why I wound up the window was because I thought he was putting me in harm's way,” said Cai. 

He added that he has a newborn baby, which caused him to act the way he did, although he did not elaborate on this argument.

Cai also said that he was not selling or using vape at the time. He did not explain why he had agreed to the meeting or challenge the proposition that he had agreed to the meeting.

District Judge Lim Tse Haw noted that Cai was a first-time offender. 

“But we cannot ignore the aggravating factor that the offence was committed while the accused was trying to run away from HSA officers. And it was fortuitous that the victim did not suffer more serious injuries by thinking quickly,” said Judge Lim. 

He sentenced Cai to two weeks' imprisonment. 

However, Cai asked to be given time to settle work matters.

Noting that Cai had been attending court since November last year, Judge Lim agreed to the request and continued bail of S$2,000. Cai will begin his sentence on Nov 1.

Court documents did not state his occupation.

For committing a rash act causing hurt, he could have been jailed for up to one year or fined up to S$5,000, or both.