Vivian Rhamanan pleaded guilty on Oct 31 to drink driving and driving without due care and attention. -- PHOTOS: KELVIN CHNG, COURT DOCUMENTS - The Straits Times/Asia News Network
SINGAPORE (The Straits Times/ANN): SEA Games squash gold medallist Vivian Rhamanan has been sentenced to two weeks’ jail, after an incident where he had been drink driving and his vehicle collided with a car travelling on the opposite lane of a road in Sembawang.
On Oct 31, Vivian, 39, pleaded guilty to drink driving and driving without due care and attention. He was also disqualified from driving for 30 months.
Vivian has won three gold medals. He was part of a duo who won the men’s jumbo doubles at the Kuala Lumpur SEA Games in 2017. He also won a gold medal in 2015 at the SEA Games held in Singapore.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Jonathan Tan said that on the evening of May 21, 2022, a friend met Vivian at his home in Woodlands, where Vivian drank two cans of beer.
After driving his friend home, Vivian was making his way home when he turned into Sembawang Hills Drive, which is a two-way road with one lane in each direction. The road does not have a central divider.
At the same time, the victim was driving on the other lane with his wife in the passenger seat.
The victim hit the brakes, but could not avoid the collision, with the front right sides of the two cars crashing into each other. -- PHOTO: COURT DOCUMENTS - The Straits Times/ANN
As that vehicle approached the bend in the road, Vivian’s car suddenly emerged from the bend, speeding towards it, as shown in footage retrieved from the victim’s in-car camera.
“At the speed that the accused was travelling, he failed to follow the bend and instead encroached into the complainant’s lane,” said DPP Tan.
The victim hit the brakes, but could not avoid the collision, with the front right sides of the two cars crashing into each other.
The impact was considerable, causing white smoke to emerge, said the prosecutor.
The male victim was injured, suffering neck and back pain, while his wife sustained a cut to her right eye and injuries on her knee.
The collision damaged the victim’s car, which required repairs that cost more than $17,000. There was also significant damage to Vivian’s car.
When a Traffic Police officer arrived at the scene, Vivian denied having drunk any alcohol prior to driving. But the officer noticed that Vivian’s breath smelt of alcohol and his eyes were bloodshot.
Vivian was arrested after failing a breathalyser test. It was later found that the proportion of alcohol in his blood was 82mg per 100ml of blood, which was above the prescribed limit of 80mg per 100ml.
For drink driving, a first-time offender can be fined up to $10,000 and jailed for up to a year.
A repeat offender can be fined up to $20,000 and jailed for up to two years. - The Straits Times/ANN
