SINGAPORE: A 34-year-old man was arrested for allegedly drink driving and driving without a valid licence after an accident in Geylang on Aug 23.
His 31-year-old male passenger was also arrested for permitting a person without a valid licence to drive.
In response to queries from The Straits Times, the police and the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) said they were alerted to an accident involving a car and a van at the junction of Guillemard Road and Geylang Road at about 3.30am.
A 54-year-old male van driver was taken conscious to Tan Tock Seng Hospital.
Images of the aftermath of the accident posted on a Facebook group, Professional PHV Drivers Singapore: Grab, Gojek, Tada n Ryde, show a grey van flipped onto its side at the junction, surrounded by passing traffic.
Several people can be seen trying to push the van back onto its wheels.
The user who uploaded the post said that “many strong men (tried) to push the van back but to no avail”, adding that the police were directing traffic at the accident scene.
Police investigations are ongoing.
For driving a motor vehicle without a valid licence, one may be fined up to $10,000, jailed for up to three years or both. The vehicle may also be forfeited.
Anyone found guilty of permitting a person to drive without a valid licence may be liable to similar penalties – a fine of up to $10,000, up to three years in jail or both.
If convicted of drink driving, the driver can be fined between $2,000 and $10,000, jailed for up to 12 months 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 80mg of alcohol per 100ml will be lowered to 30mg per 100ml.
This will make it easier to convict drink drivers and brings Singapore’s prescribed alcohol limits, which have been in force since 1985, in line with jurisdictions such as Japan and South Korea. - Straits Times/ANN
