-- ST PHOTO: ASHLEIGH SIM

That was the impression MediaCorp actor Christopher Lee gave when he faced the media for the first time since his arrest for drink driving on Oct 8 last year.

Speaking to reporters yesterday at a packed press conference in Caldecott Hill, he was forthcoming and sincere, never once shying away from any prickly question.

'I'm a new person. I didn't spend the past four weeks in jail just like that. I walked slowly through every single second and minute,' he said solemnly.

'I told myself I must face this mistake and punishment. Only then will I be able to continue life with my head held high.'

Lee, 35, regained his freedom on Monday morning after spending 28 days in jail.

'I was thinking of this when I was serving my sentence. I know that after my release, people will come up to me and say 'You've been to jail'. And I will tell them: 'Yes, I've been to jail,'' he said.

'I will remember this forever and I will remind myself never to repeat this mistake,' he added, before thanking the TV station for giving him a second chance.

His contract was suspended during his jail term and he revealed he will be attending a meeting next week to find out what is in store for him work-wise.

In the meantime, he will visit his family in Malacca but his girlfriend, actress Fann Wong, is too busy to accompany him.

Without going into too many details, he said she was 'very happy' to see him again and stressed that their relationship 'has not changed'.

Wearing a black T-shirt and jeans, he sported a new haircut, although his white hair was still visible as he did not dye it.

His face appeared drawn and there were dark circles beneath his eyes, a result of a restless first night back at home.

He had lost 3 to 4kg in the past month but he was quick to stress that it was due to the exercises he did in jail.

The remorse he showed was also obvious in the way he kept using the phrase 'I don't have the right to...', repeating it more than six times in the 30-minute session.

For example, when asked what was the most difficult thing he had to endure from his run-in with the law, he said: 'I didn't allow myself to cry once. I don't have the right to pity myself.'

But a cloud of uncertainty still hangs over Lee, a Singapore permanent resident.

A spokesman for the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority said it would be reviewing the Malaysia-born actor's permanent-residency status soon.

When asked how he feels about it, he said: 'I don't have the right to comment on this, but of course I hope to remain in Singapore.'

He had pleaded guilty to drink driving, inconsiderate driving, failing to render help and removing his car without permission after a pre-dawn collision with a motorcycle at the junction of Serangoon and Kitchener roads last year.

The motorcyclist received outpatient treatment, but his pillion rider had a toe amputated. Lee gave more than $60,000 to settle both victims' civil suits.

He began serving his initial four-week sentence at Queenstown Remand Prison on May 28.

The fine he received for the drink-driving charge was substituted with another two weeks in jail when the prosecution appealed on June 15, but he was released early for good behaviour.

The prosecution dropped the last charge - failing to stop after an accident - on June 21.

During the past four weeks in jail, Lee received only two visitors: his manager Teo Lian Huay and close friend and former actor Cansen Goh. Inmates are allowed just one visitor every two weeks.

He explained that he told his family members and Fann not to visit as he did not want to create any more trouble for them.

He said he had not consumed any alcohol since the accident, but when pressed if he will give up drinking, he said: 'The issue here should not be drinking but drink driving. I can't answer you if I will stop drinking but what I know is, drink driving is wrong.'

His lawyer had said in court that Lee has since given up driving and sold his car.

Asked if he has forgiven himself, he pondered before replying: 'I know what I did is 100 per cent wrong.'

munsan@sph.com.sg