SINGAPORE: The fifth driver in a group of six whose midnight high-speed joyride on the CTE led to a crash along Stamford Road has been sentenced to four months’ jail.
On Tuesday (Oct 6), Goh Jared-Kane, 26, was also handed a three-year driving disqualification. He had earlier pleaded guilty to a charge of dangerous driving.
Goh and the five other drivers were involved in a major road traffic accident involving two collisions in the early hours of Oct 27, 2024. Four of them had been dealt with in June and July.
Assistant Public Prosecutor Chye Jer Yuan said the group of six had met up at a carpark in Stadium Boulevard at around 1am before their joyride to the downtown area.
Apart from Goh, the other drivers were Marcus Lau Yong Wei, Damien Chia Hwa Chuan, Sherman Quah Kok Rong, Lee Jun En Gilviz, and Kong Jia Quan, who are in their 20s and 30s.
Goh had a woman, 22, in his front passenger seat at the time of his offence.
He drove as fast as 221kmh along the CTE, more than double the 90kmh speed limit, as the six of them trailed each other at high speeds along the PIE, CTE, Orchard Road, Bras Basah Road and Raffles Boulevard.
When Goh was driving along Stamford Road towards Fort Canning Link, Kong and Lee were following closely behind in two separate cars.
As Goh approached another vehicle which was making a right turn into Queen Street from Stamford Road, he hit his brakes hard to avoid collision.
This caused Kong to rear-end Goh. Lee then swerved sharply to the right, mounted the adjacent grass verge and overturned his vehicle.
As a result, the roadside vegetation, a road sign and traffic light signal were damaged.
Meanwhile, Lau and Chia were approaching the accident site at high speeds. As debris from the first collision flew across from the far right lane, Lau applied his brakes, causing Chia to ram into his car.
Quah, Goh and Kong, who did not stop at the accident site, then drove off to a nearby building.
Goh and his passenger were treated at Mount Elizabeth Novena Hospital for injuries including neck sprain and headache. They were each given three days of medical leave.
Seeking for Goh a sentence of 3½ to five months’ jail and a driving disqualification of between three and four years, the prosecutor said Goh demonstrated a wholesale disregard for traffic rules throughout the course of the incident.
“Across multiple locations, he drove at speeds approaching or exceeding double the stipulated speed limits, showing a persistent and deliberate flouting of the law rather than a momentary lapse,” added the prosecutor.
In mitigation, defence lawyer Foo Cheow Ming sought a fine for his client. He argued that if a jail term were to be imposed instead, Goh should receive the shortest sentence among all the drivers involved.
“He harmed no other person except arguably himself and his passenger, and he is foremost a victim of his own misadventure,” said Foo.
District Judge Cheng Yuxi disagreed with Foo characterising Goh as a victim.
“He blatantly disregarded the speed limits of the roads,” said the judge, noting that Goh’s dangerous driving behaviour was deliberate and sustained.
The first driver in the group to be dealt with was Lau, who was sentenced to four months’ jail on June 26.
Chia and Quah were sentenced to four months and two weeks’ jail, and two months and three weeks’ jail respectively on June 29.
Lee was sentenced to four months’ jail on July 13.
All four men were also each handed a three-year driving ban.
Kong’s case is still pending before the courts.
For dangerous driving, an offender can be fined up to $5,000, jailed for up to a year, or both. - The Straits Times/ANN
