SINGAPORE - A lawyer at the Attorney-General's Chambers (AGC) was fined $1,600 and disqualified from driving for a year after he pleaded guilty to a drink-driving charge on Friday (Aug 10).

Jeyendran Jeyapal, 39, a deputy senior state counsel, had 48 micrograms (mcg) of alcohol in every 100ml of breath while driving in the vicinity of Singapore General Hospital earlier this year.

He had exceeded by 1.37 times the prescribed limit of 35 mcg for driving.

The court heard on that at around 5 am on Feb 11, Jeyendran, a former High Court assistant registrar, was driving home along Outram Road when he was stopped by a Traffic Police officer as he turned into Second Hospital Avenue.

The officer, who was on road block duty, found he had an alcoholic breath and did a breathalyser test, which he failed.

He was arrested and taken to the Traffic Police Division for a breath specimen analysis, said Deputy Public Prosecutor Bhajanvir Singh.

When the second test showed he had been driving while under the influence, Jeyendran admitted he had consumed a glass of alcoholic cocktail at a pub at about 4am.

He was celebrating the birthday of a friend, he said in his mitigation plea.

Although he told his friend he wanted only a soft drink, he was given an alcoholic cocktail, which his friend claimed was a light alcoholic drink.

He drank it "reluctantly" as he "did not want to disappoint his friend", the court heard. He also said he felt "normal and steady" as he was getting into his car.

District Judge Victor Yeo said in sentencing that "it would make little difference that it was his friend who purchased the drink or had made him believe that it was a light drink".

But he acknowledged Jeyendran had no other aggravating factors, such as speeding or reckless driving, nor did he cause any damage to property or injure anyone.

For drink driving, first-time offenders can be jailed for up to six months or fined between $1,000 and $5,000.

Repeat offenders can be jailed for up to a year and fined between $3,000 and $10,000.

Responding to media queries, the AGC said it takes a "serious view of offences committed by our officers and will not hesitate to take appropriate actions against them".

"In this case, AGC promptly initiated prosecutorial action against the offending officer... As the upholder of the rule of law, AGC expects our officers to uphold high standards of integrity and discipline," its spokesman added.

But the spokesman did not say whether Jeyendran will face disciplinary action.