Mercedes driver who ploughed into four pedestrians pleads guilty to drink-driving charge

SINGAPORE — He began drinking alcohol on a private yacht in the morning, then decided to drive his Mercedes-Benz to his office later during evening rush hour.

Lim Kwong Fei ended up ploughing into four pedestrians along Tanjong Pagar Road, narrowly missing a young girl crossing the road. One victim had just arrived in Singapore from Australia to celebrate his 40th birthday.

When the police took Lim’s statement after arresting him, he denied that he had been drinking that day. Nine months later, he confessed that he had.

The 42-year-old former insurance agent pleaded guilty on Friday (March 29) to one count of drink-driving. Three charges of causing hurt by a negligent act, causing grievous hurt by a negligent act, and reckless or dangerous driving will be considered for sentencing on April 1.

Lim faces up to six months’ jail and a fine of up to S$5,000. He could also be disqualified from driving all classes of vehicles for a certain period.

CROSSED DIVIDER TWICE, UPROOTED TRAFFIC SIGNS

The court heard that on Dec 7, 2017, Lim started drinking at about 11.30am while on a private yacht on the waters at the Keppel Bay Marina.

After downing at least three cans of beer and a glass of red wine, he got off the yacht at 5pm and drove home.

At around 5.45pm, he began driving from his home — the Reflections at Keppel Bay condominium — to his office at Guoco Tower for a client event.

A pedestrian crossing Tanjong Pagar Road, Swedish national Rosen Gustaf Rikard, observed Lim driving in a zig-zag manner, almost hitting Mr Rikard’s young daughter.

Lim drove on and, when he reached a lamp post, abruptly swerved at considerable speed to the right.

He then mounted the road divider, uprooted a traffic sign and ploughed into four pedestrians standing on the divider.

The pedestrians as well as the traffic sign were thrown into the air, said Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) Jarret Huang.

“The accused continued driving his vehicle at some speed off the centre divider, onto the other side of the road. Prior to crossing fully over onto the other side of the road, the accused uprooted yet another traffic sign with his vehicle,” the prosecutor added.

Lim continued driving on the other side of the road, against the flow of traffic, before hitting the side of a lorry.

He drove on and then suddenly swerved to the left, mounted another road divider and crossed over to the other side of the road. He only stopped when he collided into the rear of a taxi.

After that, Mr Rikard approached Lim, who remained seated in his car, and asked him to alight. Lim complied but did not reply when the Swede asked him for his particulars.

Mr Rikard reported that Lim had a “very strong” alcohol smell. He stood beside his car and did nothing to help his victims, even after police arrived.

A breathalyser test showed that he had at least 31 micrograms of alcohol per 100ml of breath in his body, which is below the legal limit of 35 micrograms of alcohol per 100ml of breath.

Although Lim did not exceed the prescribed limit, he was deemed to be have been “unfit to drive under the influence of alcohol” to the extent he was incapable of having proper control of the vehicle.

In his statement to the police later that evening, Lim denied having drunk anything. He claimed that he consumed “about four to five bottles of wine” with his wife the night before to celebrate her birthday — something his wife denied.

In a further statement on Sept 24 last year, Lim admitted that he had lied about not drinking that day.

FRACTURES, PSYCHOLOGICAL TRAUMA

The four pedestrians were rushed to hospital after the accident.

Ms Merlyn Lim, 24, was in the area shopping for a birthday cake with her father, 57-year-old Mr Lim Yew Beng.

Mr Lim suffered multiple fractures and bleeding in the brain. He had to undergo surgical procedures and spent 15 days in the hospital.

He was also given 249 days of hospitalisation leave and was given light duty for another four months. As a result, he had to take no-pay leave for more than a month.

After the accident, he was unable to do basic daily tasks like bathing, feeding himself and going to the toilet.

Ms Lim suffered abrasions on her arms and legs, and had some shattered glass embedded in her back.

She was discharged the next day, but returned to the hospital two days later after discovering abnormalities in her hip. She received 16 days’ hospitalisation leave.

Meanwhile, Mr Nay Lin Tun, a Singapore permanent resident and Myanmar citizen, briefly lost consciousness after the accident. The 30-year-old suffered multiple injuries such as nasal fractures and had to be operated on as well.

He experienced frequent giddiness, difficulty with carrying heavy objects and permanent scarring on his right earlobe due to the accident.

Mr Martin Guillian Noel Faron, a 41-year-old Australian tourist, developed kidney function problems as a result of the trauma. He was unable to walk and feed himself, and had no control of his bowels while he was warded.

Mr Faron, who was in the country celebrating his birthday on his first day of vacation, was also unable to work in his small construction business after the incident. He has since only been able to undertake light work.

The driver of the taxi Lim collided into received five days’ medical leave for neck and back pains, and suffered S$13,356 in losses.

‘EXCEPTIONALLY DANGEROUS’

DPP Huang sought five months’ jail and five years’ disqualification from driving, describing Lim’s driving as “exceptionally dangerous and aberrant”.

He added that Lim caused serious physical and psychological harm to his victims, some of whom have developed phobias and nightmares.

In mitigation, Lim’s lawyer Josephus Tan said that his client’s alcohol level was “very low” at the time. Lim also had a “relatively clean” record in his 24 years of driving, Mr Tan added.

The lawyer asked for no more than 14 weeks’ jail and five years’ disqualification from driving for Lim. He also told the court that Lim was “naturally in shock” after the accident, which was why he did not respond to Mr Rikard.

“Mr Lim had initially tried to assist the victims but he was surrounded by an angry mob which was shouting at him aggressively and yelling at him to stay away from the victims,” Mr Tan added.