Jail for woman who drove boyfriend’s rental car without licence, lied to police at roadblock after she switched seats with him
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- A woman who has never taken driving lessons before asked her boyfriend to let her drive his rental car
- When they spotted a roadblock from afar, the couple switched seats to avoid detection, but officers on duty saw them doing so
- The couple lied to an officer about what they did, saying they stopped the car before the roadblock to get some work files
- The woman was sentenced to jail, a fine and a driving ban for driving without a licence, among other offences
Updated September 9, 2024
SINGAPORE — Wanting to save money on taking driving lessons, a woman asked her boyfriend to let her practise driving using a car that he rented.
When they approached a police roadblock while driving, the couple switched seats in an attempt to not get caught, but they were already spotted doing this by the officers on duty.
On Monday (Sept 9), the Singaporean woman, Cassandra Ang Jia Hui, 32, was sentenced to 36 days in jail and ordered to pay an S$800 fine. She was also disqualified from holding or obtaining any class of driving licence for two years.
She pleaded guilty to a charge each of driving without a licence, using a motor vehicle without insurance coverage and obstructing the course of justice.
Another charge of obstructing the course of justice and giving false information to a public servant were taken into consideration during sentencing.
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Her boyfriend, Koh Chee Kwee, a 62-year-old Singaporean, was sentenced last month to jail, a fine and a one-year driving ban.
WHAT HAPPENED
Koh went to pick Ang up at her friend’s house in Jurong West after 11pm on Jan 3 last year.He was driving a leased car.
Ang told him that she did not have the confidence to drive and asked him to guide her so that she would save money on getting a driving licence.
Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) Shamini Joseph in court documents: “(Koh) agreed to let the accused drive so that he could guide her even though he knew that she did not possess any valid driving licence at the time.”
The couple switched seats and Ang then drove from a bus stop along Boon Lay Way to Tuas Avenue 3, via the Ayer Rajah Expressway (AYE). This is roughly about a 15-minute drive.
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Once she reached an industrial car park along Tuas Avenue 3, they both agreed that she would drive back to their residence somewhere along Boon Lay Drive.
DPP Shamini said that this was the first time Ang had driven a car and she had not taken practical driving lessons before this.
As Ang was driving along Corporation Road at about 1.30am, the couple spotted a police roadblock from afar.
To avoid getting caught driving without a licence, Ang stopped the car at the side of the road, got out and switched seats with her boyfriend before he drove towards the roadblock.
When the officer at the roadblock asked why they stopped before approaching the roadblock and whether they had changed seats, the couple denied doing so.
They lied that they had been talking about work and stopped to retrieve a file containing work-related documents. They also maintained that Koh was driving the car all along.
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The officer on duty warned the couple several times of the consequences of providing false statements to a police officer, but they persisted in giving the same replies.
The officer then took down their details and informed them to report to an investigation officer with the Traffic Police division at a later date regarding the incident that night.
Investigations were required to ascertain if there was any video footage that had captured relevant events.
Later, the couple decided to come clean about what they did and informed the investigation officer on Jan 13 last year.
Anyone found guilty of driving a motor vehicle without a valid licence, could be fined up to S$10,000 or be given a jail term of up to three years, or both, and be liable to a driving disqualification.
Driving a motor vehicle without an insurance policy in force attracts a similar penalty.
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For obstructing the course of justice, Ang could have been sentenced to jail for up to seven years or been ordered to pay a fine, or both.
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