SINGAPORE: An Australian national who drove drunk despite knowing this is an offence in Singapore was given a two-week jail sentence and slapped with a S$7,000 fine on Wednesday (Aug 21).
Forty-six-year-old Jonathan David Rees, a director at Google Cloud who crashed his vehicle near the Supreme Court last March, was also given a lengthy driving ban, according to a report in CNA.
For 42 months, he will not be able to obtain a driving license or drive any motor vehicle within Singapore.
The prosecution pointed out that Rees paid “no mind to his inebriation” and “chose to drive in his intoxicated state despite knowing that drink driving was an offence in Singapore.”
He entered a guilty plea to one count of drink-driving and another for driving a car without due care and attention. Rees could have received a maximum jail term of 12 months and been made to pay a fine of S$10,000.
On the evening of March 22, 2024, while at a Robinson Road bar with friends, Rees consumed four or five cans of beer. Despite this, he drove his leased car home from the bar.
At around 11:00 pm, turning left into Supreme Court Lane from Parliament Place, he crashed into a sign and a pole right by the zebra crossing outside the Supreme Court.
The collision, which sent the Supreme Court’s security guards to the scene, nearly uprooted the pole and dented the directional sign. Shortly afterwards, the police also came and arrested Rees.
The car he was driving, which came up on a curb, ended up stopping by a lamp post on Parliament Place. The car’s right tyres were punctured, and its front left tyre was damaged.
A breath analysis test later showed 79 microgrammes of alcohol per 100ml of his breath, over twice the legal limit of 35 microgrammes. The Land Transport Authority (LTA) spent S$589.36 for repairs on the sign and the pole, for which Rees has made full restitution.
A fine of S$7,000, three to four weeks of jail, and a three to four-year driving ban were sought by the prosecution, who said his behaviour was highly culpable.
“He could have chosen to do the responsible thing after approximately four hours of drinking, which was to engage a valet service and find alternative transport home,” CNA quoted Deputy Public Prosecutor Ariel Tan.
She also mentioned that Rees had compounded offences for speeding in 2016 and failed to conform to a red light signal in 2020.
Rees’ lawyer, Christopher de Souza from Lee & Lee, asked that his client be merely fined or only be given a one-week jail term should the court not agree to just the fine.
He also mentioned that Rees came to Singapore to work around 2014 and considers it his home. Mr de Souza also said that he cooperated fully with the police as he understood his actions were wrong. /TISG
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