Editor gets a day's jail, $2k fine
By Selina Lum
Lim Hong Eng (left), the 56-year-old executive editor of Shin Min Daily News, was there to hear the outcome of the appeal against her sentence for knocking down and injuring a motorcyclist and killing the woman riding pillion with him. --ST PHOTO: ALPHONSUS CHERN
IT WAS a day of twists and turns for a newspaper editor in the High Court on Friday.
Lim Hong Eng, the 56-year-old executive editor of Shin Min Daily News, was there to hear the outcome of the appeal against her sentence for knocking down and injuring a motorcyclist and killing the woman riding pillion with him.
The appeal against her conviction was rejected, but the 11/2-year jail term dealt by a lower court was cut to a day's jail and a $12,000 fine on two charges.
Later in the morning, defence lawyers and the prosecutor ran some checks and realised that there had been a sentencing error for one of the charges.
The mistake was for the charge of causing death by dangerous driving, for which she was jailed a day and fined $10,000. The Road Traffic Act does not make a provision for a fine for this offence, only jail-time.
So it was back to court after the lunch hour. When Lim re-entered the courtroom, the smile that lit up her face upon the morning's verdict was replaced by an anxious expression.
Her counsel Subhas Anandantold Justice Choo Han Teck that he may have misled the judge with his arguments for a 'high fine' to be imposed on Lim.
Justice Choo set aside the fine, saying: 'In the circumstances, it will not be right to increase the custodial sentence to the detriment of the accused.'
Relief washed over Lim to know that the fine's being set aside was not going to mean a longer jail term for her. The judge made it clear, however, that this was a one-off case and was not to be used as a sentencing precedent.
Mr Anandan later told reporters that Lim will donate to charity the $10,000 she was to pay in the fine.
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