Man fined, disqualified from driving for drink driving, using phone along AYE
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Arumugam Kumaragurubaran pleaded guilty on Jan 21 to one count of drink driving and one charge of driving while using his mobile phone.
ST PHOTO: KELVIN CHNG
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- Arumugam Kumaragurubaran was fined $9,400 and banned from driving for 48 months.
- The lorry driver was caught drink driving with 288mg of alcohol per 100ml of blood and using his mobile phone while driving.
- He pleaded for leniency, citing his role as the family's sole breadwinner supporting three school-going children.
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SINGAPORE – A man was fined $9,400 and disqualified from driving for 48 months after he was caught by a Traffic Police officer on patrol.
Arumugam Kumaragurubaran, 40, pleaded guilty on Jan 21 to one count of drink driving and one charge of driving while using his mobile phone.
The Indian national was driving a lorry along the Ayer Rajah Expressway towards the Marina Coastal Expressway at 2.10pm on April 11, 2025, the court heard.
A Traffic Police officer on patrol noticed Arumugam driving on the centre lane and wanted to stop him.
While approaching him, the officer noticed he was holding his mobile phone with his left hand and tapping on the device’s screen with his right hand while driving.
When he was stopped for checks, the officer noticed that Arumugam reeked of alcohol and arrested him on the spot.
He was taken to Ng Teng Fong Hospital, where his blood was drawn for a blood alcohol analysis.
Tests revealed that Arumugam had not less than 288mg of alcohol in 100ml of blood, exceeding the prescribed limit of 80mg of alcohol in 100ml of blood.
Court documents showed that he was drinking at his dormitory in Tuas at about midnight on April 11, 2025, and went to sleep at about 3.30am. He consumed three bottles of beer and one bottle of brandy.
In mitigation, Arumugam asked the judge for leniency as he was the sole breadwinner of his family and had to support his three children, who are still in school.
Drink driving has been on the rise in Singapore.
In the first eight months of 2025, 1,173 people were arrested for drink driving
Those caught driving under the influence of alcohol can be fined between $2,000 and $10,000, jailed for up to 12 months, or both.
For driving while using a mobile phone, an offender can be fined up to $1,000, jailed for up to six months, or both.
