SINGAPORE: A driver who drank alcohol to conceal his actual breath alcohol level after an accident near his home has been fined S$8,000 (RM25.650).
Samuel Gomes-Lim Jia’En, 36, pleaded guilty on Aug 7 to one charge of obstructing the course of justice. He was disqualified from driving for three years.
Claire Sng Wei Ying, 28, who gave him the bottle of gin after the accident, was fined S$10,000 (RM32,000) in December 2025.
The accident happened on April 14, 2024, after the pair had lunch by the beach in Sentosa and shared two cans of alcoholic soda, Deputy Public Prosecutor Teng Yin Hang told the court.
They were there for about three hours before Gomes-Lim headed home in his car with Sng at around 5pm. As he was turning into his condominium complex in the Dairy Farm area, he crashed into a pillar.
Gomes-Lim and Sng left the car and took a lift to an unspecified floor at the property. They returned to the accident site a short time later.
Several residents and the condominium security gave chase when they saw the pair.
After they were caught, Gomes-Lim was made to sit on a bench while waiting for the police. But while waiting, he told Sng to get him a bottle of alcohol from the apartment.
Sng filled a 750ml gym shaker bottle with gin to around two-thirds full, and then handed the bottle to Gomes-Lim, who consumed almost all of its contents.
When a Traffic Police officer arrived at the scene later, Gomes-Lim told the officer that he had consumed alcohol.
At about 9pm, the officer told Gomes-Lim to provide his breath sample for a breathalyser test. He initially refused, telling the officer that he had consumed alcohol after the accident.
Gomes-Lim finally provided his breath sample at around 10.15pm, the court heard.
He was found to have 73 micrograms (mcg) of alcohol in 100ml of breath, which is more than double the prescribed limit of 35mcg of alcohol in the same amount of breath.
Those convicted of committing an act that has a tendency to obstruct the course of justice can be jailed for up to seven years or fined, or both.
On Aug 4, Parliament passed new traffic laws that slashed the alcohol limits for drivers by more than half, from 35mcg of alcohol per 100ml of breath to 15mcg per 100ml of breath.
The blood alcohol limit of 80 milligrams (mg) of alcohol per 100ml will be lowered to 30mg per 100ml. -- The Straits Times/ANN
