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A National University of Singapore (NUS) professor who was caught on video driving his Maserati in a dangerous manner has a history of committing traffic offences, a district court heard yesterday.
Henry Yeung Wai Chung, 50, had been fined up to $200 for each of his three earlier offences between 2012 and 2016 - namely for speeding, inconsiderate driving and careless driving.
He was given the maximum fine of $5,000 yesterday after pleading guilty to his latest offence - dangerous driving. He was also disqualified from driving all classes of vehicles for 13 months.
On Sept 7, Yeung was driving his Maserati on the right side of Lorong Chuan towards Braddell Road at around 1.15pm when a white car in front of him started changing lanes to the left.
Instead of waiting for the white car to finish changing lanes so that the road would be clear, Yeung overtook the white car on the right, crossed the single continuous white line and drove into the lane for vehicles travelling in the opposite direction, Deputy Public Prosecutor Deborah Lee said yesterday.
He later drove back into his lane on the correct side of the road. Yeung then overtook a second car, driven by Mr Leow Kee Chye, 67, before veering back into the right lane in front of Mr Leow's vehicle.
Mr Sim Chin Huat, 59, was driving a lorry ahead of Yeung towards Braddell Road when Yeung drove at a fast speed to try to overtake Mr Sim's vehicle on the right. While doing so, Yeung mounted the kerb of the centre divider and went into the lanes for vehicles in the opposite direction.
"Fortunately, there was no collision," said DPP Lee.
Yeung then drove against the flow of traffic, crossed the double continuous white lines before stopping his car in front of Mr Sim's lorry.
A video posted on the Beh Chia Lor - Singapore Road Facebook page on Sept 11 showed a black Maserati driving against traffic and almost crashing head-first into an oncoming taxi and a car.
The Maserati then stopped in front of a lorry. No injuries were reported, and the police arrested Yeung on Sept 12.
Soon after, the driver of the Maserati was identified as Yeung, and NUS confirmed that it was aware of the incident.
Yeung is from the geography department at NUS, according to the NUS website.
His biography on the website stated: "Since February 2018, I have been appointed Distinguished Professor of the National University of Singapore in recognition of my 'outstanding academic excellence as well as academic and intellectual leadership'."
In response to queries from The Straits Times, an NUS spokesman said the university expects all members of its community to conduct themselves in accordance with the law.
"NUS is reviewing the court's decision and will decide on whether disciplinary proceedings will be taken against Professor Henry Yeung," added the spokesman.
