A deputy senior state counsel with the civil division of the Attorney-General's Chambers (AGC) was found guilty of drink driving and faced a fine of S$1,600 by the District Court on Friday, August 10.
The 39-year-old convict, Jeyendran Jeyapal has pleaded guilty to one count of driving under the influence of alcohol on Friday. The court also disqualified him from driving for 12 months.
During the sentencing the District Judge Victor Yeo said that the court could not find any aggravating factors in this case such as exceeding speed limits, driving in a dangerous manner or causing any damage to property.
The judge also came to know that the accused Jeyapal was seen at a police roadblock along Second Hospital Avenue towards Singapore General Hospital at around 5 am on February 11. As per the traffic rules for the drivers the limit of consuming alcohol is 35mcg but when the police stopped him and took a breathalyser test, the result showed that he had 48 micrograms of alcohol in 100ml of breath.
A further police investigation has revealed that Jeyapal, who once chaired the assistant registrar post in High Court, had a glass of alcohol at around 4 am on that day before he was heading towards home.
During sentencing, the convict, who was unrepresented, sought for a minimum penalty as he committed such offence for the first time. He also told the court that he cooperated with the investigation officers throughout the process.
While clarifying himself, Jeyapal also told the court that on that day he was celebrating one of his friend's birthday a few hours before he committed the offence. He also mentioned that even though he wanted to have only soft drinks, his friend brought him alcohol and urged him to drink it and since he did not want to spoil the party, that's why he consumed the drink.
Later, an AGC spokesperson said that the authority takes serious actions against those officers, who committed any offence. She also added that as the upholder of the rule of law, AGC expects that the officers will maintain high standards of integrity and discipline.
As per the rules and regulation in terms of drink and driving, there are four bands of punishment for first-time offenders. These are:
- Between 35 – 54 ug: $1,000 to $2,000 in fines, and a driving ban of 12 to 18 months
- Between 55 – 69 ug: $2,000 to $3,000 in fines, and a driving ban for 18 to 24 months
- Between 70 – 89 ug: $3,000 to $4,000 in fines, and a driving ban for 24 to 36 months
- At least 90 ug: $4,000 to $5,000 in fines, and a driving ban for 36 to 48 months or longer
Under Section 67, the repeat offenders can face a fine of between $3,000 and $10,000, or an imprisonment term of up to 12 months.
