16 arrested for drink—driving

SINGAPORE: Sixteen motorists were arrested in a drink driving blitz in the early hours of Thursday morning.

The operations by the Traffic Police were conducted at Clemenceau Avenue, Crawford Street, Jalan Toa Payoh and Kallang Road.

The drivers, 14 men and two women between the ages of 24 and 55, had failed the breathalyser test.

The highest breathalyser test result was 54 microgrammes of alcohol per 100 millilitres of breath. This exceeded the prescribed legal limit of 35 microgrammes of alcohol per 100 millilitres of breath.

"Motorists who drink and drive are being selfish and simply disregard their own safety as well as that of others," said Commander of Traffic Police and Assistant Commissioner of Police, Cheang Keng Keong.

"It’s not a case of whether you will be caught. It’s a matter of when you will be caught. When the time comes, you can expect to be dealt with the full extent of the law."

Drink drivers, on conviction, will be disqualified from driving for at least 12 months.

They will lose their driving licences and have to retake the theory and practical driving tests in order to obtain their driving licences again.

First—time offenders can be fined between S$1,000 and S$5,000, or jailed up to six months.

Repeat offenders may be punished with a maximum fine of S$30,000 and a mandatory jail term of up to three years.

They may also be caned up to six strokes should they cause serious injury or death.

— CNA/xq/al