SINGAPORE — A deputy senior state counsel, who was convicted of drink driving, was fined S$1,600 by the District Court on Friday (Aug 10).

Jeyendran Jeyapal, 39, who currently works in the civil division of the Attorney-General's Chambers (AGC), pleaded guilty to one count of driving under the influence of alcohol on the same day of his sentencing.

He was also disqualified from driving for 12 months. In sentencing him, District Judge Victor Yeo said that there were no aggravating factors in his case such as speeding, driving in a dangerous manner or causing damage to property.

The court was told that at around 5am on Feb 11, Jeyendran was stopped at a police road block along Second Hospital Avenue towards Singapore General Hospital.

A breathalyser test showed that he had 48 micrograms of alcohol in 100ml of breath, exceeding the prescribed limit of 35mcg.

Police investigations showed that Jeyendran, who was a former High Court assistant registrar, had consumed a glass of cocktail at about 4am that day before driving home.

Jeyendran, who was unrepresented, pleaded for the court to impose the minimum penalty since he was a first-time offender, adding that he was cooperative during the investigations.

He said that he was celebrating a friend's birthday hours before he committed the offence. Though he requested for a soft drink, his friend brought him an alcoholic drink instead and urged him to drink.

Not wanting to disappoint the birthday boy, Jeyendran consumed the alcohol.

Asked if it was going to censure him separately, an AGC spokesperson said it had "promptly initiated prosecutorial action against the offending officer", who was sentenced to a fine on Friday.

She added: "The AGC takes a serious view of offences committed by our officers and will not hesitate to take appropriate actions against them … As the upholder of the rule of law, AGC expects our officers to uphold high standards of integrity and discipline."

For drink driving, first-time offenders can be jailed for up to six months or fined between $1,000 and $5,000.

Repeat offenders can be jailed for up to a year and fined between $3,000 and $10,000.