SINGAPORE — After repeated run-ins with the law, a 38-year-old drug abuser ran afoul of it again last year when he decided to evade a road block while driving a vehicle that he did not have the licence for.

On Monday (June 3), Lim Wen Han was sentenced to three strokes of the cane and five years and three months’ imprisonment.

He was also disqualified from holding or obtaining all classes of driving licences for a period of two years with effect from his date of his release.

The State Court had proceeded with five charges against Lim for offences which included the possession and consumption of drugs, as well as driving a vehicle while under suspension and without insurance coverage.

Six other charges were also taken into consideration for his sentencing, which was backdated to January 5 this year – the date of his remand.

Lim had pleaded guilty to his offences on May 6 this year.

WHAT HAPPENED

The court heard that on December 30 last year, Lim was travelling along Jalan Besar when he came upon the road block at around 11pm.

As he had in his possession paraphernalia that was meant for drug consumption, Lim ignored instructions from the Traffic Police to stop his vehicle.

He then tried to bypass the road block, but was stopped anyway. Court documents did not state how.

A search of Lim’s vehicle uncovered a digital weighing scale, a lighter and several glass apparatus which court documents said were meant for use in the consumption of Class A drugs, such as methamphetamine.

Various pills and powders were also found, though the court documents do not specify what they were exactly.

Lim was arrested that night and brought to the Central Police Divisional Headquarters.

Investigations by the police revealed that prior to his arrest, Lim had smoked Leng De, a street name for methamphetamine, using an “improvised glass utensil”.  

An analysis of his urine sample also confirmed the presence of the drug.

Further investigations showed that Lim had his car driving licence suspended for a period of two years at the time he was stopped by the traffic police.

The Deputy Commissioner of Police had suspended him from driving a Class 3 vehicle until April 29, 2021.

Lim was also uninsured while driving the vehicle, a punishable offence in Singapore.

RECALCITRANT OFFENDER

Deputy Public Prosecutor Chong Yonghui told the court that this was not Lim’s first brush with the law.

In fact, Lim has a long list of offences that stretch all the way back to 1994, including theft,  and dishonestly receiving stolen property. He has also been arrested before for driving a vehicle without a licence or insurance coverage and consuming a controlled drug.

He had even spent some time at a drug rehabilitation centre, said Mr Chong.  

Pleading for a lighter sentence, Lim told the court in Mandarin that he regretted his actions and promised that he would not return to court.

“I have two children. They are in special schools and both have been diagnosed with autism,” he said through a translator.

Lim added that apart from his mother, there was no one else taking care of them.

For each charge related to the consumption of a specified drug, Lim could have faced a maximum penalty of seven years’ imprisonment and six strokes of the cane.

For the possession of a controlled substance, he could have been punished with a maximum of three years’ jail and/or a fine of up to S$10,000.

The punishment for driving while under suspension is a fine of up to S$5,000 and/or a maximum jail term of up to 12 months, while using a vehicle without insurance coverage would result in a fine of not more than S$1,000 and/or imprisonment that does not exceed three months.