Motorist involved in traffic accident after taking codeine got into second collision a year later

SINGAPORE – A man drove a car in June 2022 shortly after consuming unprescribed medication, including cough syrup, and ended up mounting a kerb.

Muhammad Fahmi Johari, who was a private-hire driver at the time, was later found to have more than 15 substances in his blood sample, many of which could affect a person’s ability to do a number of things, including driving a vehicle.

They included codeine, a substance found in some cough syrups, diazepam – which is used to treat anxiety disorders – and pseudoephedrine, which is found in several medications used to treat the common cold as well as allergies.

In 2023, he got into a separate accident while driving a second car, causing the driver of the other vehicle to suffer a fracture to his little finger.

On May 11, Fahmi, 40, was sentenced to four weeks’ jail and a fine of $6,000.

He had pleaded guilty to offences, including driving while under the influence of drugs and intoxicating substances, and causing grievous hurt to another person while driving without due care and attention.

For the latter offence, he was also disqualified from holding or obtaining all classes of driving licences for a period of six years from May 11.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Valerie Lim told that court that Fahmi had admitted to consuming around 90ml of cough syrup on the evening of June 19, 2022, even though he did not have prescription for the medication.

As a private-hire driver, he started driving at around 10pm the next day, doing four pickups.

He was driving along Yishun Central at around 3.30am on June 21, 2022, when he lost control of the vehicle.

The car struck a centre divider, mounted a kerb and travelled along the divider before stopping at a bus stop.

Police officers, who arrived at the scene soon after, noticed that Fahmi’s gait was unsteady and his speech was slurred.

He was arrested that morning and his blood sample was later found to contain the drugs.

In a memo, a doctor from the Health Sciences Authority stated: “The co-administration of these drugs may also potentiate the sedation effects. The effect of the drugs can vary from person to person and repeated exposures may lead to tolerance.

“Toxicology result alone may not be able to predict the driving impairment. It should be used in corroboration with at-the-scene observations to assess the ability of the accused in handling the vehicle at the time of accident.”

In another incident, Fahmi was driving a rental car along Seletar West Link at around 8.30pm on June 19, 2023, when he failed to maintain a proper lookout ahead.

The vehicle hit the rear of another car whose 54-year-old driver suffered a fracture to his little finger.

The victim went to the Singapore General Hospital shortly before 10am on June 20 that year and was discharged later that day with an appointment for outpatient hand surgery.

He was also given hospitalisation leave from June 20 to July 3, 2023.

Fahmi was arrested on March 10, 2025, the court heard.

Singapore’s roads are now at their most dangerous in years, with traffic deaths hitting a 10-year high of 149 in 2025 compared with 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.