NUS professor who drove Maserati against traffic given maximum fine, driving ban

SINGAPORE — A National University of Singapore (NUS) professor who drove his Maserati against traffic was on Monday (Nov 26) given the maximum fine of S$5,000 and banned from driving.

Henry Yeung Wai Chung, whose brief biography on the NUS website says he is a professor in the Department of Geography, pleaded guilty to one charge of dangerous driving.

The court heard that Yeung was travelling on the right lane of a two-lane road along Lorong Chuan towards Braddell Road, at about 1.15pm on Sept 7 this year.

A white car in front of him began changing lane to the left, but instead of waiting for the vehicle to finish doing so, Yeung overtook it on the right.

To do so, he crossed the single continuous white line and drove into oncoming traffic on the opposite lane before manoeuvring back to the correct side of the road ahead of the white car.

After this, Yeung came to a section of Lorong Chuan where the road became a three-lane road.

Lorry driver Sim Chin Huat, 59, was driving ahead of Yeung on the leftmost lane of the road, in a sequence captured in a viral video.

Mr Sim was changing lanes to go to the centre lane, where Yeung was travelling.

Yeung drove at a fast speed to try and overtake Mr Sim on the right, mounting the kerb of the centre divider and going into the lanes for vehicles travelling in the opposite direction.

"At that point in time, there was a taxi travelling in the opposite direction," said the prosecutor. "Fortunately, there was no collision."

Yeung drove against the flow of traffic, crossing the double continuous white lines before stopping his car in front of Mr Sim's lorry.

Yeung damaged the front left portion and front left wheel of his car by mounting the kerb.

For dangerous driving, Yeung could have been jailed for up to 12 months, on top of a fine.

Channel NewsAsia has contacted NUS for more information. CHANNEL NEWSASIA