Man who drove while under disqualification and harassed girlfriend jailed, fined
A man who drove a van while under disqualification for life and harassed his girlfriend despite a Protection Order against him was jailed and fined on Wednesday (23 May).
Tommy Koh Leng Theng, 37, pleaded guilty in the State Courts last month to four offences – driving despite being banned from driving, driving without insurance, violating a Protection Order taken by his girlfriend, and damaging her passport.
On 8 February last year, Koh parked the van at an open-air car park near Block 54 Pipit Road, when a traffic policeman on patrol approached him for a routine check. The officer found out that Koh had been disqualified from driving for life since May 2002. There was also no insurance policy taken for the van.
He was jailed a total of 19 months for the two driving offences.
Koh, who was then a sole proprietor, did not intend to drive the van as the driver who was usually on duty was not available, according to his lawyer Adam Ong. He wanted to move the van to a “better spot” so that it wouldn’t sustain heat damage, Ong said.
Separately, Koh was fined a total of $3,500 for violating a Protection Order taken by his then girlfriend Diana Sim against him and damaging Sim’s passport.
On 25 November 2016, Koh got into an argument with Sim at Block 241 Jalan Ahmad Ibrahim. Koh grabbed Sim’s handbag and threw its contents onto the floor. He then cut the handbag by using a penknife with a 10cm long blade.
Koh also took Sim’s Singapore passport from her during the argument and tore out several pages from it before throwing it on the ground.
The Protection Order was in effect more than two months before Koh harassed Sim.
In mitigation, Ong cited Koh’s personal and financial woes, saying that his business was in the doldrums in early 2017 and he had to sell his HDB flat in July last year.
Koh, who is currently homeless, is working as an odd-job labourer to survive and provide maintenance for his nine-year-old daughter. A “crushing sentence” would further aggravate his financial situation, Ong added.
District Judge Mathew Joseph noted that Koh had been convicted twice before for driving a vehicle despite being disqualified for life and that his prior 18-month jail term appeared to have no effect on him.
For driving while disqualified, Koh could have been jailed up to three years and/or fined up to $10,000. For harassment, he could have been jailed up to six months and/or fined up to $5,000.
