Nov 20, 2009
Court squashes conviction
Motorist found sleeping in his car, judge rules lesser charge applies
<!-- by line --> By K C Vijayan, Law Correspondent
<!-- end by line -->
<!-- end left side bar --> <!-- story content : start --> IN A significant ruling, the High Court has quashed the drink driving conviction of a motorist found sleeping in his parked car on an expressway shoulder - even though his breath alcohol level was above the legal limit. Ruling that, at best, the driver was guilty of being intoxicated while in control of a vehicle on a road, but not driving it, Justice Lee Seiu Kin ordered that he be charged with a less serious offence. The written grounds for the judge's decision in the case of R. Subramaniam, 55, were published on Wednesday. Subramaniam had been fined $3,000 and banned for two years from driving in January. But he appealed, and this was heard in July. In his written judgment, Justice Lee ruled that it could not be presumed that Subramaniam was drink driving before he fell asleep, since there was no evidence of his alcohol level then. He was tested by police only after they found him - almost two hours after he first pulled to the side of the road to catch 40 winks.
Read the full story in Friday's edition of The Straits Times.
Court squashes conviction
Motorist found sleeping in his car, judge rules lesser charge applies
<!-- by line --> By K C Vijayan, Law Correspondent
<!-- end by line -->
<!-- end left side bar --> <!-- story content : start --> IN A significant ruling, the High Court has quashed the drink driving conviction of a motorist found sleeping in his parked car on an expressway shoulder - even though his breath alcohol level was above the legal limit. Ruling that, at best, the driver was guilty of being intoxicated while in control of a vehicle on a road, but not driving it, Justice Lee Seiu Kin ordered that he be charged with a less serious offence. The written grounds for the judge's decision in the case of R. Subramaniam, 55, were published on Wednesday. Subramaniam had been fined $3,000 and banned for two years from driving in January. But he appealed, and this was heard in July. In his written judgment, Justice Lee ruled that it could not be presumed that Subramaniam was drink driving before he fell asleep, since there was no evidence of his alcohol level then. He was tested by police only after they found him - almost two hours after he first pulled to the side of the road to catch 40 winks.
Read the full story in Friday's edition of The Straits Times.
