Jail term for drunk actor in hit-and-run

MEDIACORP actor Christopher Lee was on Thursday given four weeks’ jail and fined S$4,500 (RM10,350) for drink driving, and being involved in a hit and run accident.  

Lee, a Malaysian, was also banned from driving for three years. He is appealing against the jail term and is out on a S$20,000 (RM46,000) bail.  

District Judge Terence Chua, explaining his decision, said he was convinced that where there was serious injury, “the starting point” for the court must be a jail term and a driving ban.  

Condemning the act of leaving an accident scene as “cowardly and irresponsible,” he said that while a collision between Lee’s car and a motorcycle on Oct 8 last year was an accident, the actor’s not stopping “was a choice.”  

Lee: The actor is currently appealing against the jail term and is out on bail

And because he did not think the mitigating factors were persuasive, a custodial sentence was appropriate.  

On Lee’s drink driving charge, he said that while the offence was serious, a fine and disqualification were sufficient.  

Judge Chua noted that drink driving offenders were often off the mark in assessing their blood alcohol levels, and that the rate of alcohol absorption varied according to sex, build and metabolism, among other factors.  

Lee, referred to in court as Lee Meng Soon, looked taken aback by the jail term.  

He had admitted to drink driving, inconsiderate driving, failing to render aid to the injured motorcyclist and his pillion rider, and removing his car from the scene without police permission.  

The accident happened just after 4am at the junction of Serangoon and Kitchener roads.  

The court heard that while the motorcyclist Periakarup- pan Dhandapani was given outpatient treatment, his pillion rider Jeyaraman Senthil Kumar had a toe amputated. 

Deputy Public Prosecutor Jason Chan, recounting the accident, said Lee’s car sideswiped the motorcycle. It skidded and both men fell, but Lee drove off.  

When police stopped him shortly after, he failed a breathalyser test. He was more than twice over the legal limit.  

Lee’s lawyer, Senior Counsel Lok Vi Ming, said in his mitigation plea that Lee, expecting he would drink, had taken taxis to two nightspots that night.  

He then walked back to a friend’s Cuscaden Walk apartment where his car was parked and rested until 4am before driving to Little India for supper.  

Lok said the actor was shocked and confused after the accident, but never had any intention to flee.  

He also did not know how serious the victims’ injuries were, said his lawyer. – The Straits Times / Asia News Network