Van driver gets jail, 10-year driving ban for causing 2 friends’ deaths after night of drinking

SINGAPORE — A delivery driver who caused the deaths of two friends in an accident pleaded guilty for a second time on Thursday (June 4) and was sentenced to one-and-a-half years’ jail and a ban from driving all classes of vehicles for 10 years.

Joseph Low Moh Boon, 26, first pleaded guilty in September last year to one charge of causing the deaths of Aaron Prem Michael, 25, and Chioh Hong Heng, 43, by a rash act not amounting to culpable homicide.

At the time, the court heard that following the accident along Bukit Timah Road in 2018, his blood and urine were found to have contained small amounts of ketamine and its main metabolite, norketamine.

Low’s blood sample showed he had 78mg of alcohol per 100ml of blood as well, which was slightly below the legal limit of 80mg per 100ml of blood. 

The prosecution had sought two years’ jail at the time, saying Low appeared to have been under the influence of drugs at the time of the accident, which increased his culpability for the offence.

But on Thursday, Deputy Public Prosecutor Sarah Thaker told the court that the prosecution had since received a clarification report from Tan Tock Seng Hospital (TTSH), saying that Low was given the drugs as medication for injuries he had sustained in the accident.

She then sought a jail sentence that was four months shorter than what the prosecution had previously asked for, after Low once again pleaded guilty to the same charge.

Low had gotten treatment for his injuries at TTSH, including a laceration over his knee. He was given ketamine and metronidazole, an antibiotic, before his blood samples were taken.

In mitigation, Low’s lawyer Raj Singh Shergill pointed to a “pattern of delay” in Low’s prosecution, including the “very serious allegation” that his client had been taking controlled drugs before driving — something that Low denied from the beginning.

Low had also been “exposed to a significant degree of public vilification” after his case was reported in the news, the lawyer said. 

“That emotional trauma cannot be undone. That is prejudicial to the accused,” Mr Shergill added.

The lawyer further told the court that Low was genuinely remorseful for the loss of his friends’ lives, and could not recall speeding at 117km/h to 122 km/h just before the accident.

He could have been jailed up to five years, fined or both.

WHAT HAPPENED

The court heard that on Oct 19, 2018, Low finished a delivery job and picked up Chioh. 

He then went home to take a shower, while Chioh went to look for Michael, who lived nearby.

After finishing his shower, Low called Chioh to say that he was tired and wanted to stay home, but Chioh insisted that they head out because it was Low’s birthday the next day.

The trio picked up another friend in Ang Mo Kio before going to a pub in Jalan Besar. The four of them shared three jugs of beer.

Low admitted to feeling very tired while drinking, as he had worked the whole day.

Afterwards, with Chioh and Michael in his van, he sped along Bukit Timah Road towards the stretch of Upper Bukit Timah Road before Mackenzie Road.

The speed limit was 60 km/h but he was driving at 117km/h to 122 km/h just before the accident, which occurred at about 3.10am. 

As he approached a junction, Low did not slow down and mounted a kerb on the left, colliding into a tree. The impact dislodged one of the van’s tyres and sent it flying into the front of a taxi.

At about 3.30am, Chioh and Michael were pronounced dead by paramedics. Low was taken unconscious to TTSH in an ambulance. He was discharged four days later.

Inspectors could not conclude if any mechanical failure to the van contributed to the accident since it had been badly damaged.