Jail, fine for man who injured cyclist while drink driving in 2022, reoffended in 2024
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Heng Zeng An was sentenced to nine weeks and four days’ jail on April 20. He was also fined $5,000.
ST PHOTO: KELVIN CHNG
SINGAPORE – A drink driver who caused grievous hurt to a cyclist and was caught drink driving again while on bail has been sentenced to nine weeks and four days’ jail.
On April 20, Heng Zeng An, 36, was also fined $5,000.
The Singaporean pleaded guilty on April 7 to two counts of drink driving. He also admitted to causing grievous hurt to the cyclist by driving without due care and attention.
For the offence, he was disqualified from holding or obtaining all classes of driving licences for seven years from his release date.
In earlier proceedings, Deputy Public Prosecutor Chan Wayde told the court that Heng consumed alcohol from 7.30pm to 10.30pm on Oct 25, 2022.
Despite this, he decided to drive from Waterloo Street back to his home in Admiralty Drive.
Court documents stated that Heng was “voluntarily intoxicated” while he was driving along Sembawang Road around midnight.
His car approached an intersection at Sembawang Road and Yishun Avenue 3 and did not stop when the traffic lights turned red.
The vehicle then collided with the 31-year-old cyclist, who was crossing the road on a power-assisted bicycle.
The cyclist, who had the right of way at the time, suffered injuries, including multiple abrasions and a rib fracture.
Traffic Police (TP) officers arrested Heng after he failed a breathalyser test.
As he was unwell, they took him to Khoo Teck Puat Hospital and obtained a sample of his blood.
The sample was found to contain at least 149mg of alcohol in 100ml of blood, almost double the prescribed limit of 80mg.
Heng was released on bail but reoffended in 2024, the court heard.
He consumed alcohol in Ah Hood Road, near Balestier Road, from around 9.30pm on July 5 that year until the early hours of the next day.
He later decided to drive a friend home in Bidadari Park Drive before making his way to his own home in Admiralty Drive.
Along the way, one of his car tyres punctured, and the vehicle mounted a kerb.
Heng then decided to drive to a workshop, but the car broke down along Bishan Street 22.
TP officers spotted it at around 5am, and they arrested Heng after he failed a breathalyser test.
They took him to the Police Cantonment Complex, and another test showed that he had at least 47mcg of alcohol in 100ml of breath. The prescribed limit is 35mcg in 100ml of breath.
Heng was represented by lawyer Divanan Narkunan, who said that the offender’s breath alcohol level was “relatively low” when he was caught drink driving for the second time.
The lawyer from Law Chambers of Divanan Narkunan added: “The accused was not driving the vehicle recklessly, carelessly or dangerously, and without incident up till the point of apprehension.
“There was no actual harm caused and the risk of potential harm was low.”
Singapore’s roads are now at their most dangerous in years, with traffic deaths hitting a 10-year high of 149 in 2025, up from 141 in 2016.
Given the dire situation on the roads, The Straits Times will be running stories to remind all road users, including drivers, motorcyclists, cyclists and pedestrians, to be more careful.
The stories will highlight the irreversible consequences of a traffic accident, regardless of whose fault it is.
