After consuming alcohol at a corporate dinner in a country club, a man decided to drive home but found himself lost in the compound.
Leaving behind a trail of destruction in an eight-minute drive captured on CCTV footage, he ended up driving his car into a swimming pool.
On April 7, William Teng Guan How, 63, pleaded guilty to one drink-driving charge and one for performing a rash act endangering human life. He will be sentenced on April 9.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Darren Ang said that on Aug 27, 2024, Teng had spent the day at Seletar Country Club for a golf event, followed by a corporate dinner at about 7.45pm.
Teng admitted that he drank two shots of whiskey at the dinner before deciding to drive home around 9.30pm.
The court heard he had taken a wrong turn within the country club's compound, driving through a playground before heading to the pool area.
The pool was closed at the time.
Footage played in court showed how Teng had driven his vehicle into the club's pool, then reversed out, before finally driving the front half of his car into the pool again.
In the process, he ran over plants, dislodged a water pipe, dented the side of a metal shed, hit garden lights and damaged tiles, drain covers and a railing in the swimming pool, causing about $18,000 in damage.
After he was arrested, he was tested and found to have 63 micrograms (mcg) of alcohol in 100ml of breath - nearly double the legal limit of 35 mcg of alcohol in 100ml of breath.
The court heard that Teng had multiple compounded traffic offences between 2016 and 2017, including speeding, driving across a road divider and failing to conform to a red light stop.
Teng's lawyer, Mr Mark Cheng from PKWA Law Practice, had asked for Teng to be given a heavy fine in lieu of a jail term, arguing that the custodial threshold had not been crossed.
But District Judge Koo Zhi Xuan disagreed, saying Teng had left a trail of destruction while driving.
"I struggle to see how a fine in this case would be sufficient, and not a travesty of justice, to put it mildly. He was clearly unfit to drive; he was not in a state to understand what was happening," the judge said.
"He drove his car into the pool twice. Plus the fact he was intoxicated. This case must surely warrant a greater sentence."
Though Teng had not injured anybody that night, a vehicle is still a lethal weapon in the hands of someone ill-equipped to handle it, Judge Koo added.
"In a sense, it is fortunate he got himself stuck in the country club. We don't know what kind of damage he would have caused if he managed to get out on the public road."
The number of people killed and injured in traffic accidents in Singapore hit a five-year-high in 2024. Annual statistics by the Traffic Police show 142 people died in accidents in 2024, up from 136 in the previous year.
The number of people injured in accidents was also up, from 8,941 in 2023 to 9,302 in 2024.
More people were caught drink driving, with 1,778 such arrests in 2024, up 6.9 per cent from 2023.
Drink-driving-related accidents dropped from 180 to 166 cases in the same time period, but the number of fatal accidents linked to drink driving increased from 11 cases in 2023 to 12 in 2024.
For drink driving, a first-time offender can be jailed for up to a year and fined up to $10,000.
A repeat offender can be jailed for up to two years and fined up to $20,000.
