Gynaecologist jailed for drink driving, injuring 4 in collision
Dr Wong Hon Kwong Kenneth, who was suffering from an eye condition but
had been told he could drive, thought he saw a green arrow and turned right, colliding with two vehicles.
had been told he could drive, thought he saw a green arrow and turned right, colliding with two vehicles.
SINGAPORE:
A veteran gynaecologist drank and drove, mistook a red arrow for a green one and collided with two other vehicles, leaving four people with minor injuries.
Dr Wong Hon Kwong Kenneth, a 55-year-old Singaporean, was jailed for four weeks on Friday (Aug 30) and banned from driving for three years.
He pleaded guilty to one count each of drink driving and driving without due care and attention, which resulted in a collision with a car and a taxi that were going straight from the opposite direction.
Dr Wong's lawyers, led by Mr Shashi Nathan from Withers KhattarWong, said he had an "obscurity" in his vision and that his mind was preoccupied with a difficult procedure he had performed on a woman earlier that day.
WHAT HAPPENED
The court heard that Dr Wong had dinner with some friends on the night of Dec 9, 2023, and drank alcohol.At about 1.10am on Dec 10, 2023, he drove along Upper Bukit Timah Road towards Woodlands Road with at least 54 microgrammes of alcohol per 100ml of breath.
This exceeds the legal limit of 35 microgrammes.
He then turned right on a red arrow at the junction of Upper Bukit Timah Road and Old Jurong Road, thinking he had seen a green arrow along with a green traffic light.
Dr Wong collided with the car and taxi as they travelled straight on a green light for them.
The collision injured the 40-year-old car driver, the 73-year-old taxi driver and two female passengers aged 38 and 63.
The vehicles were damaged on impact, with bumpers crumpled and ripped off, windscreens scratched and headlights cracked.
The four victims went to hospital with minor injuries including neck pain and bruises to the chest, and were discharged later that day.
The prosecutor said Dr Wong had no prior convictions but had a record of compounded traffic violations – meaning he paid out-of-court fines for them.
These include three occasions of speeding, three occasions of failing to conform to a red light, one count of inconsiderate driving and one of using his phone while driving.
The prosecutor sought four to six weeks' jail for Dr Wong, along with a three- to four-year driving ban.
AN UNFORTUNATE INCIDENT: DEFENCE
Defence lawyers Mr Nathan, Ms Tan Jia Yi and Mr U Sudharshanraj Naidu sought not more than two to three weeks' jail, a fine and three years' disqualification from driving instead.Mr Nathan said Dr Wong currently practises as an obstetrician and gynaecologist at a clinic in Mount Elizabeth Hospital.
He has over 15 years of experience, with his clinic - The OBGYN Centre - successfully delivering more than 1,000 babies to date, said Mr Nathan.
He said Dr Wong suffers from visual defects in his right eye, with complications including a blind spot due to retinal damage in the eye.
As a result of this, he underwent emergency laser surgery in October 2022 and lens replacement surgery in March 2023, said the lawyer.
However, his doctors purportedly told him it was safe to continue driving.
After the lens replacement surgery, Dr Wong continued to notice halos in his right eye, especially when looking at spotlights at night.
It was this that caused him to think he saw a green arrow instead of a red one, Mr Nathan contended.
In response, Deputy Public Prosecutor Eunice Chew said Dr Wong had been advised to go for further investigation for his eye condition but did not.
The blind spot in his eye was still there a month before the accident, and in the prosecution's view, the fact that he had the blind spot and still chose to drive makes out the charge of driving without due care and attention.
Mr Nathan said the reference to the obscurity in Dr Wong's eye was not an excuse but an explanation to the court as to why he had made the right turn.
"He's not driving recklessly or fast, he slowed down to make the turn, it was an error of judgment," said the lawyer.
He added that for some of Dr Wong's past traffic violations, he ran red lights as he was in a rush to get to hospital to deal with emergencies, and used his phone also to deal with an emergency.
Mr Nathan said this again was not an excuse but an explanation – Dr Wong accepts that there is no excuse, and that he has to follow traffic rules even in emergencies.
Mr Nathan said this was Dr Wong's first drink-driving offence, and he has a habit of "religiously calling for a valet whenever he drinks", but acted against his better judgment this time.
PATIENT ON HIS MIND
On that day of the accident, Dr Wong had delivered a baby for a patient who suffered a very complicated vaginal tear.As she seemed to be in a stable condition, he left for a friend's birthday celebration where he drank five to six glasses of sake, stopping at about 7.30pm, said the defence.
He then received a call from the hospital saying that his patient had experienced unanticipated blood loss and required blood transfusions.
Dr Wong arranged for blood transfusions but remained with his friends as there was no immediate need for him to physically attend to the patient, said Mr Nathan.
However, his mind remained preoccupied with the patient's condition. When he finished dinner with his friends, he decided to return home.
When he received no response from a call to a valet, he decided to drive home, thinking it had been at least three hours since his last drink, said Mr Nathan.
Mr Nathan said this has been "a very sobering episode for him".
"And I use that word carefully," said the lawyer.
"It's because he realises he could easily have avoided this situation and that's why there is significant contrition on his part."
He said Dr Wong also made full restitution, having his own insurance lawyers working on settlements with all those involved as he wanted to "do the right thing from the beginning" and make sure "nobody was out of pocket".
He highlighted the "clang of the prison gates" and said even a short sentence "for someone like him" would be crushing.
Editor's note: This article has been updated to make it clear that Dr Wong has a private clinic which is based at Mount Elizabeth Hospital, and is not the head of its gynaecological unit. We apologise for the error.
Source: CNA/ll(kg)
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