After Phoo alighted, Long brought four others in the group to drive the car at high speeds, before the vehicle crashed and burned.
Seeking the maximum fine of S$5,000 and a disqualification period of 36 months, Deputy Public Prosecutor Tay Jia En said that while such offences would ordinarily attract a custodial sentence, the prosecution noted that Phoo had pleaded guilty and shown remorse.
Defence counsel Sunil Sudheesan asked for a slightly lower fine of S$4,000 for his client, along with the driving disqualification, citing her remorse and cooperation with the authorities.
Pleading for the court to “give her a chance”, Mr Sudheesan added that his client had lost her job and was also impacted by the fatal accident that day as she had lost a number of friends.
Delivering her decision, District Judge Salina Ishak said that she agreed with the prosecution’s submission that there was a high degree of harm in this case.
While the traffic condition was light, there were still other road users at that point in time. The judge also noted that Phoo had driven at “two to two and half times” the speed limit when the higher range of speed was taken into consideration.
She also noted that all parties had drunk alcohol prior to the incident, but Phoo’s blood alcohol level was not mentioned in court.
For driving dangerously, Phoo could have been jailed for up to 12 months, fined up to S$5,000 or given both punishments.
This story was originally published in TODAY.