A man who was allegedly drink-driving was stopped by the police for inspection. He rolled down the window and apologised to the police during the roadblock and then sped off at 140km/h. When being chased by the traffic police, he called his friend and told his friend he “ran away”. He eventually hit a lamppost and overturned his car, leading to his arrest on the spot.
The incident occurred in the wee hour on September 21, 2023, when a roadblock for drunk driving detection was set up on Whitley Road.
The man was identified as Lin Jingjie (transliteration). The 26-year-old man faced a total of five charges and pleaded guilty to three of them on Wednesday, including drink-driving, dangerous driving, and violating the Police Force Act offence.
The man was driving a truck on Whitley Road at 1.23am on the day of the incident, reported Zaobao. According to the video footage played in court, the man received a call from a friend in advance who informed him of the roadblock.
Man told police “I’m sorry” before driving away at 140km/h
When he arrived at the roadblock, he drove into the inspection area at a slow speed. When he saw the traffic police approaching, he rolled down the window and said “I’m sorry”, before accelerating his vehicle, and fleeing from the scene.
The traffic police gave chase and caught up with him. Reportedly, the man was driving at the speed of 140km/h.
While he was escaping, the man was driving very dangerously, including driving across the road divider, weaving between several cars to overtake, and talking to friends on the phone, telling his friend repeatedly that he “ran away.”
While he was driving along the Farrer Road flyover, the man reportedly bumped into a car but he continued driving forward. When he turned left onto the slip road from Farrer Road to Holland Road, he accidentally ran up the curb and hit a lamppost, causing his truck to overturn.
According to documents presented in court, the man fled about 4.5 kilometres from the scene and it took about five minutes.
The prosecutor pointed out that the man was fined for beating a red light in 2022. He emphasized that the man’s behaviour was extremely horrendous and that it was pure luck that no serious injuries were caused. His behaviour of driving at high speed while drunk could cause serious and irreversible injuries.
In addition, the man’s alcohol test showed that breath alcohol content in every 100 millilitres of breath was 36 milligrams, which was more than the limit.
The court heard that the man started drinking with friends at about 9pm the night before the incident, and drank at least seven small glasses of beer before trying to drive home.
His lawyer pointed out that the alcohol content in his breath was only one milligram above the legal limit, and it was almost possible to pass the test. It was only a momentary wrong judgment that led to a catastrophe and begged the judge to give him a lighter sentence.
However, the prosecutor pointed out that the test was conducted at 3.52am, which was more than two hours from the time he escaped from the roadblock. If he had been tested earlier, his alcohol content would have been higher.
Eventually, he was sentenced to 14 weeks in prison, a fine of $2,000 and a suspension driving license for 40 months.
