If there’s something that most of us have probably learned over the course of growing up, it’s that there’s a time and place for everything.
For example, running away from someone trying to sell insurance is probably understandable, but running away from an officer is… probably not.
But that’s exactly what this truck driver did when an officer from the Land Transport Authority (LTA) tried to stop him after suspecting that he was driving a truck that was carrying more load than it was permitted to.
Apart from fleeing with the overloaded truck, the driver, Chong Kong Pooi, also went back to the place where the truck was stationed with his boss to remove multiple tonnes of coal from the truck afterwards.
Chong, 49, pleaded guilty to one charge of refusing to comply with the LTA officer when instructed to allow officers to weigh the truck, and another of obstructing the course of justice by removing the coal with his boss.
A third charge was also considered in sentencing.
And if this already sounds like the Taiwanese dramas that your grandmother watches every weekend, buckle up, because here’s all you need to know.
What Happened
In court, it was revealed that Chong was employed by Hiap Tat Holdings as a driver at the time of the offence.
On 4 May last year, Chong placed a load of hard coal into the truck before driving it from Seletar North Link to Fort Road, which was where the coal was supposed to be unloaded.
Chong, a Malaysian, was then stopped at around 3.45pm that day by an LTA enforcement officer who was conducting checks along Fort Road.
In particular, the officer noticed that Chong’s tipper truck might have been overloaded, and this meant that the vehicle could have flouted a road traffic rule.
After noticing Chong, the officer trailed behind the truck with his motorcycle and pulled Chong over by signalling for Chong to stop driving.
At that point in time, the truck had yet to enter the entrance of the Marina Coastal Expressway (MCE).
Truck Was Confirmed to be Overloaded, Officer Asked for Truck to be Driven to Inspection Centre
After stopping Chong, the officer noted that the maximum laden weight of the truck was 28,000kg, or 28 tonnes.
However, a card on the truck showed that there was a total of 36,540kg worth of load on the truck at that point in time. Chong was aware that the truck was overloaded.
The officer then informed Chong that the truck was overloaded and that he would require Chong to drive the truck back to an inspection centre for it to be weighed. The officer would escort him while he drove the truck back.
After hearing this, Chong tried to plead with the officer and asked to not be escorted to the inspection centre.
However, the officer refused and instructed Chong to follow his directions before both men drove towards the inspection centre in their own vehicles.
While driving to the centre, Chong made a phone call to Chan Je Huat, his employer.
Chong informed him about what had happened.
Boss Told Chong to “Run” from Officer, Officer Caught Up Initially
After hearing about what had happened, Chan, who was also aware that the truck had been overloaded, instructed Chong to “just try to run” first.
Chong abided by his employer’s directions and tried to escape by making a sharp turn in order to exit the tunnel along MCE via the Marina Coastal Road exit.
There, he stopped his truck.
He then made another plea to the officer when the officer asked him why he took the turn, and asked if the officer could allow him to unload the truck before they continued travelling to the inspection centre.
The officer disallowed him to do so and once again asked Chong to follow his motorcycle.
Made Another Sharp Turn
And because making one sharp turn to flee from the officer clearly wasn’t enough, Chong made another one.
This time, he suddenly swerved right while driving along Central Boulevard, causing his truck to head towards Marina Gardens Drive. However, the officer was able to catch up with him at a traffic junction soon after his turn.
When the officer confronted Chong once again, he asked Chong what was going on.
In response, Chong told him that he did not want to drive the truck anymore and that he wanted to return home.
He then asked if the officer could give him another chance, but the officer rejected this.
Thereafter, Chong drove off in the truck.
Officer Gave Chase, Chong Finally Caught After More Officers Deployed
After Chong fled (again), the officer chased after him and notified his colleagues for assistance.
Eventually, LTA officers were able to stop Chong from driving off once again when they found him driving recklessly at the traffic junction between Marina Gardens Drive and Central Boulevard.
The officers then took the truck’s keys away from Chong, but he was still uncooperative and got into a struggle with the officers before he ran away from them towards Shenton Way.
Ran Away in Truck Once Again After Being Caught
After running away on foot, the officers were able to catch him and directed him to sit down on the ground.
Even though he complied initially, he stood up out of a sudden and entered his truck, claiming that he wanted to take his petrol card out of the truck.
However, he drove away again once he got into the truck, for the third time this time.
Finally Caught After TP and More Officers Helped in the Chase
During his third time escaping, Chong ran a red light and performed an illegal U-turn while driving but was eventually still caught by the officers.
A traffic police officer and three other LTA officers ended up being involved in the situation, and all of the officers present at the scene attempted to bring Chong to the Inspection Centre.
Refused to Drive Truck to Centre, Claimed that it Broke Down
However, Chong decided to stop his truck along Ang Mo Kio Avenue 1.
The reason?
He said that there was no more petrol left in the truck. (When the petrol tank of the truck was still one-quarter full.)
Even when the officers told him to continue driving, he still ended up stopping at another junction and would not budge afterwards.
And if you think that he would have run out of reasons (or excuses) by now, he actually didn’t.
Instead, he told the officers that the truck had broken down and that he could no longer drive it.
In response to that, the LTA officer that had been following Chong the entire time told him to sign a towing form since the “broken down” truck would need to be towed and impounded.
Despite the officer’s instructions, Chong did not sign the form since he had received instructions from his employer to not do so.
Eventually, the officers had no choice but to tow the truck away.
The truck ended up being towed to a car park next to the LTA office building located in Sin Ming, and a note indicating that the vehicle was under investigation by the LTA was placed on it as well.
Returned With Employer to Remove Coal from Truck
However, that wasn’t all.
After the truck was towed away, Chong and his employer decided to revisit the area to find the truck by driving around the area.
They eventually found the truck, and Chong’s employer told him to remove three to four tonnes of coal from the truck in order for the truck’s laden weight to be within its acceptable limits.
However, the authorities ended up not weighing the truck as they found that it could have been tampered with after it was towed away.
Court Proceedings Noted How Chong Took Instructions from Employer
After the incident, an LTA prosecutor and a deputy public prosecutor (DPP) were put in charge of the case.
The former asked for three to five days’ jail for Chong, and said that it was not a “standard” case. In fact, it was one of the most appalling cases that he had seen thus far.
“There were eight stops that were made from MCE to [the inspection centre]. This whole event lasted for about four hours and 15 minutes. That is a very long time to escort a vehicle from the MCE … given how big Singapore is,” he noted.
Apart from that, the LTA prosecutor also noted that the case ended up requiring a large amount of manpower since five LTA officers and a traffic police officer ended up being involved.
There was also a large number of other resources that the officers had to use in their attempt to escort Chong to the inspection centre.
With regards to the charge of obstructing justice, the DPP sought a week-long jail sentence for Chong and cited similar reasons as the LTA prosecutor: that the case took up a large amount of police investigative resources.
In spite of that, the DPP brought up how Chong had pleaded guilty early into the case, and that he had committed the offences after being instructed by his employer.
As for Chong’s lawyer, he argued that a jail term for his client would not be “appropriate” since he is the only one who is supporting his entire family financially.
Chong’s entire family lives in Malaysia.
His lawyer asked for leniency and noted how Chong only carried out the offences due to “poor judgment calls” and how his client had “misguided loyalty” to his employer.
Apart from that, he also pointed out how Chong did not commit the offences for his own benefit since he would not have been held responsible even if the truck was weighed and found to have been overloaded.
Instead, his company would have had to bear the consequences.
Featured Image: Land Transport Authority (LTA)