SINGAPORE — An error made by an officer from the State Courts resulted in a lorry driver serving two extra days of imprisonment.

The wrongful jail time came to light in a media statement issued by the State Courts on Wednesday (Sept 2).

The lorry driver, Mr Teo Seng Tiong, 59, was involved in an accident with a cyclist, Mr Eric Cheung Hoyu, 35, and a video of the incident went viral in 2018.

Mr Teo was found guilty of causing hurt to the cyclist in a rash act endangering human life, as well as failing to file a police report within 24 hours of the accident.

The lorry driver was supposed to serve seven weeks’ jail, pay a fine of S$500 and be disqualified from holding or obtaining any driving licences for two years after he was found guilty.

If he could not pay his fine, he was supposed to serve three days’ in prison in lieu of the fine. Mr Teo appealed against his sentence but the High Court dismissed it.

On July 20 this year, Mr Teo started serving his jail term and paid the fine.

The High Court notified the State Courts that the fine had been paid on the same day, the State Courts said in its statement.

“However, the State Courts officer in charge of the case erroneously failed to update the Warrant of Commitment and the State Courts’ case management system to reflect that the fine had been paid,” it added.

The Singapore Prison Service asked the State Courts on Aug 21 and 22 whether the fine had been paid.

The State Courts replied that the fine had not been paid because Mr Teo’s case was not updated in the State Courts’ case management system due to the error made by the officer.

Mr Teo then served two extra days in jail, as one-third of the three-day jail term was remitted. His original sentence of seven weeks was also remitted to five. He was released on Aug 24.

The State Courts found out that Mr Teo had paid the fine only on the day of his release, after the prisons sent them a letter from Mr Teo’s lawyer, with the payment receipt attached.

“The State Courts deeply regret what has happened, and we have conveyed our letter of apology to Mr Teo through the Attorney-General’s Chambers,” the statement read.

It added that it took immediate steps to review the work processes governing fines for State Courts cases that have gone on appeal to the High Court.

“We have since implemented further safeguards, such as additional levels of checks, as well as commenced an internal review of the matter. Depending on the outcome of the review, appropriate action (including disciplinary action) will be taken,” it said.