A Google Cloud director was jailed, fined, and prohibited from driving on Wednesday ( Aug 21 ) for intoxicating himself and injuring a sign and pole near the Supreme Court in March.
American Jonathan David Rees, 46, was jailed for two weeks, fined S$ 7, 000 and given a 42-month ban from obtaining any travelling permission or driving any motor vehicle in Singapore.
Rees had employed Mr. Christopher de Souza from Lee &, Lee, who argued for a good for his client in place of a one-week prison term if the court disagreed with a good.
Griffiths entered a criminal plea to one count each of driving a car while impaired and without giving due consideration and consideration under the Road Traffic Act.
Rees and a group of friends were seen at a table in Robinson Road on the night of March 22 according to the jury.
He drank four to five cartons of home brew before taking his final taste at around 10 o’clock.
He left the bar and drove apart in a leased vehicle, according to the attorney, not realizing that drink driving was a crime in Singapore.
Rees planned to move left into Supreme Court Lane, so he kept to the leftmost street along Parliament Place until around 11 p.m.
He made the turn instead of slowing down at the stretch and making the turn; rather, he drove straight into a lateral mark and a pedestrian lighthouse pole next to the Supreme Court.
His car mounted the slope and came to a stop along Parliament Place near a light post.
As a result, the pillar shaft was almost totally uprooted and the vertical sign was dented, said the counsel.
Rees ‘ car sustained damage to its top left tyre, and both proper wheels were punctured.
The customers officers arrived soon after the Supreme Court’s security personnel arrived on the scene.
Because Rees ‘ breath smelt of liquor, an official conducted a breathalyser check on him, which returned a “red” effect, indicating he had consumed alcohol.
Rees was detained and brought up to the customers police office where a breathalyzer discovered 79 microgrammes of beer per 100ml of his mouth. The constitutional limit is 35 microgrammes.
Rees made full restitution to LTA ( LTA ) S for the pole and sign, and it cost the Land Transport Authority ( LTA ) S$ 589.36 to repair them.
HIGHLY CULPABLE: Counsel
Rees was ordered to spend three to four weeks in prison by deputy public attorney Ariel Tan, along with a fine of S$ 7, 000 and a three to four-year driving ban.
She said Rees was “highly culpable”, consuming four to five cartons of ale and driving off less than an afternoon after his last drink, paying” no head to his drinking”.
Rees had installed a slope where it is customary for people to walk, and his breath was more than twice the legal limit.
After about four days of drinking, he could have chosen to use a valet service and look for another mode of transportation, according to Ms. Tan.
” He evidently had the methods to do so, primarily because of his work as a Google Cloud director.” He chose to travel in his drunken condition despite knowing that consume travelling was prohibited in Singapore, she continued.
She claimed that Rees does not have a spotless driving history; instead, he has committed numerous offenses for speeding in 2016 and obstructing a red light transmission in 2020.
Mr. de Souza, Rees ‘ attorney, claimed three to four weeks was inappropriate and that event government did not support this.
He argued that the sentence should be shorter than two days, citing instances where someone was given two days ‘ prison but did not have as many mitigating factors as his client or had more enraging elements.
He sought a great good for Rees, citing the “immense anxiety and pain” placed on his home and child.
Mr de Souza cited Rees ‘ function in Google, saying “he is not a person who had contributed one, two, three years in Singapore” but who had come around in around 2014.
Rees understands” the failure of his ways,” the lawyer said, adding that he regarded this as his home and that he complied with the authorities by cooperating with them.
For beverage driving, he could have been jailed for up to 12 months and fined between S$ 2, 000 and S$ 10, 000.