Drink driving suspect jailed for lying his wife was at wheel

A FORMER warrant officer suspected of drink driving was jailed for a week yesterday for lying to the police that his wife had been at the wheel at the time.

Christopher Chua Chun Kiat, 44, was seen changing seats with Ms Michelle Goh Seok Lin, 40, by a police officer after pulling into a church driveway as he approached a road block in Bukit Timah Road.

When he was interviewed there, he admitted having drunk three glasses of beer at a nearby hawker centre.

He also admitted that he had driven the car into the Church of the Latter Day Saints to switch seats with his wife.

A breathalyser test was not done as Chua complained that he had breathing difficulties.

Instead, he was taken to hospital so that his blood sample could be taken.

Investigations later confirmed that contrary to his statement to police the next day, he was indeed the driver of the car at the time of the offence - 2.30am on June 3, 2013.

Chua admitted giving false information in writing to the Traffic Police.

His lawyer had asked that a fine be imposed, saying his client, who now runs a security company, had an exemplary record in the Singapore Armed Forces, and the offence was out of character.

But Judge Shaiffudin Saruwan agreed with the prosecution that a custodial sentence was warranted.

He said Chua aggravated the situation by instigating his wife and a backseat passenger to make false statements to help him.

Chua could have been jailed for up to one year and/or fined up to $5,000.

elena@sph.com.sg

This article was first published on Mar 10, 2015.
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