Driver who severed pedestrian's body to serve original 11-year jail term as court dismisses appeals

The man had failed to notice a 64-year-old retiree crossing Dunearn Road and struck him at a speed of between 111kmh and 122kmh.

A view of the Supreme Court building in Singapore.

This audio is generated by an AI tool.

Warning: This story contains graphic descriptions

SINGAPORE: A man who drove drunk at high speed and hit a retiree, severing his body into three parts , will serve his original sentence of 11 years' jail after the High Court on Monday (Sep 7) dismissed both the prosecution's appeal for a longer sentence and the defence's bid for a shorter one.

The 46-year-old Australian, a Singapore permanent resident, was sentenced in February to 11 years' jail, a fine of S$12,000 (US$9,473) and a driving ban of 15 years.

This is believed to be one of the longest sentences meted out for such offences.

CNA is not naming the man as doing so could identify his two children, who were aged three and four at the time of the offence and are protected by a gag order.

He had pleaded guilty to one count of dangerous driving causing death as a "serious repeat-repeat offender" and a second charge of repeat drink driving.

A third charge for dangerous driving involving his children was considered in sentencing.

The man had been driving home from a child's birthday party on Apr 23, 2023 after drinking wine, with his two children in the back.

He failed to notice the 64-year-old Singaporean retiree crossing Dunearn Road towards Bukit Timah Canal and struck him while travelling at between 111kmh and 122kmh on a road with a speed limit of 70kmh.

The force of the crash severed the victim's body into three parts, with his torso and head crashing through the windscreen and landing on the offender's lap.

The impact shattered the windscreen of the man's silver BMW M3 Coupe and injured his two children.

Prosecutors had pushed to increase his jail term to 12 years and nine months, while the man's lawyers sought a sentence of six years and four months to eight years.

Justice Christopher Tan said there was merit to both appeals, but they were ultimately not enough to allow him to grant the appeal on either side.

On the defence's appeal, he said some of the increases applied to the sentence could have been moderated, but this was not reason enough to allow the appeal.

He agreed with the prosecution that the sentencing "discount" for the man's guilty plea should have been 20 per cent and not the 30 per cent that was awarded.

Overall, he said, the lower court judge's sentencing decision was "by and large solidly reasoned".

The prosecution had earlier argued that the 30 per cent discount given by the lower court judge, Principal District Judge Toh Han Li, had been given in error. This was because the offender had indicated he would plead guilty only within Stage 2 of the guidelines and not Stage 1.

In Singapore, accused persons may receive a reduction of up to 30 per cent in their jail sentence if they plead guilty. The guidelines set out four stages of criminal proceedings, with the maximum sentencing reduction for a guilty plea decreasing at each stage.

Get our pick of top stories and thought-provoking articles in your inbox

Stay updated with notifications for breaking news and our best stories

Join our channel for the top reads for the day on your preferred chat app

该男子没有注意到一名 64 岁的退休老人正在穿越 Dunearn Road，以 111 公里/小时至 122 公里/小时的速度撞上了他。

新加坡最高法院大楼一景。

这段音频由人工智能工具生成。

警告：本文包含露骨描写。

新加坡：一名男子酒后高速驾车撞倒一名退休老人，导致其身体被撞成三段。周一（9月7日），高等法院驳回了控方要求加重刑罚的上诉和辩方要求缩短刑罚的请求，该男子将服完原判的11年监禁。

这名 46 岁的澳大利亚人是新加坡永久居民，他于 2 月份被判处 11 年监禁、罚款 12,000 新元（9,473 美元）以及 15 年的驾驶禁令。

据信，这是对此类罪行判处的最长刑期之一。

CNA 没有公布该男子的姓名，因为这样做可能会暴露他的两个孩子，案发时他们分别为三岁和四岁，目前受到禁言令的保护。

他承认犯有一项危险驾驶致人死亡罪（属于“屡犯重罪”）和一项屡次酒后驾驶罪。

第三项指控是危险驾驶并涉及他的子女，这一指控在量刑时也被考虑在内。

2023年4月23日，这名男子在参加完孩子的生日派对后喝了酒，开车带着他​​的两个孩子回家。

他没有注意到这位 64 岁的新加坡退休人士正横穿杜尼安路前往武吉知马运河，在限速 70 公里/小时的道路上以 111 公里/小时至 122 公里/小时的速度撞上了他。

撞击的冲击力将受害者的身体撕成了三部分，他的躯干和头部撞破挡风玻璃，落在了肇事者的腿上。

撞击导致这名男子的银色宝马M3轿跑车的挡风玻璃破碎，他的两个孩子也受了伤。

检察官力主将他的刑期增加到 12 年零 9 个月，而该男子的律师则寻求判处 6 年零 4 个月至 8 年的刑期。

克里斯托弗·谭法官表示，双方的上诉都有理有据，但最终不足以让他批准任何一方的上诉。

针对辩方的上诉，他表示，对刑期的一些加重可以适当缓和，但这不足以成为允许上诉的理由。

他同意检方的观点，认为该男子认罪的量刑“折扣”应该是 20%，而不是实际判处的 30%。

他表示，总体而言，下级法院法官的量刑决定“大体上是合情合理的”。

控方此前辩称，下级法院法官杜汉利（Toh Han Li）给予的30%减刑是错误的。这是因为被告人表示他只会在量刑指南的第二阶段认罪，而不是第一阶段。

在新加坡，被告人如果认罪，最高可获得30%的刑期减免。相关准则规定了刑事诉讼的四个阶段，每个阶段认罪可获得的最高减刑幅度都会递减。

订阅我们的邮件，即可获取精选热点新闻和引人深思的文章。

订阅通知，第一时间获取突发新闻和精彩报道。

加入我们的频道，即可在您常用的聊天应用上获取当日热门文章。