Man who went to jail in daughter’s place for traffic accident: Duo charged with perverting justice

SINGAPORE - A man who was earlier sentenced to jail after he took the fall for his daughter and pleaded guilty to her purported role in a traffic accident was charged in a district court on Thursday with perverting the course of justice.

David Ong, 56, was also charged with other offences, including permitting his daughter, Audrey Ong Hui Ling, to drive a car allegedly without a driving licence.

Audrey Ong, 26, was handed similar charges on Thursday.

In addition, she was charged with causing grievous hurt to a motorcyclist by driving in a negligent manner at around 10pm on Oct 15, 2019.

She was allegedly driving along Tampines Avenue 2 towards Avenue 1 that day when the car collided with Mr Muhammad Syawal Abdullah’s motorcycle. He suffered a fracture to his left arm as a result.

After the accident, the father and daughter pair allegedly conspired to pervert the course of justice.

They are accused of entering into an agreement in which David Ong would assume criminal liability on his daughter’s behalf for her alleged role in the traffic accident.

He was sentenced to five days’ jail and banned from driving for two years after he pleaded guilty in court in September 2020.

But the High Court threw out the conviction on Oct 7, 2022, after the prosecution received new information about the case.

The pair’s cases have been adjourned to Nov 24.

For engaging in a conspiracy to pervert the course of justice, an offender can be jailed for up to seven years and fined.

For causing grievous hurt while driving in a negligent manner, an offender can be jailed for up to two years and fined up to $5,000.

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