Normally, we would have both hands on the steering wheel as we drive on the road. And maybe for the more experienced drivers, one-handed steering is possible.
But driving with our eyes closed? Unheard of.
Until one man decided to do just that.
Drunk man sped with his eyes closed
In 2019, an intoxicated driver who was speeding swerved across two lanes and mounted a kerb. He crashed into a maid, Ms Domielyn Santos Ocampo, who was walking along the sheltered footpath.
Instead of assisting the 40-year-old maid, Sy Yong Da decided to flee the scene and send the car to a workshop.
I see what he did there, trying to cover up.
At the State Courts on Friday (11 June), Sy was jailed for six-and-a-half years after pleading guilty to three charges. This includes speeding in a risky manner resulting in death, failure to render assistance after an accident, and obstruction of justice.
Upon his release from prison, he will also be disqualified from holding all classes of driving licenses for 10 years.
The incident
On the night of 6 December 2019, Sy went drinking with eight friends at Icon Pub in Balmoral Plaza at about 11pm.
At about 6am, he decided to drive his friend to her home nearby on his silver Lexus. Veering from lane 2 to 4, he mounted the left kerb while travelling along Farrer Road towards Queensway.
Mind you, he was at about 78kmh to 81kmh on a road with a speed limit of 70kmh.
“The accused admitted that at this point he closed his eyes,” Deputy Public Prosecutor Samyata Ravindran told the court.
DPP Samyata added, “The accused revealed that at this point he was feeling very tired and sleepy.”
Sy crashed into Ms Ocampo, who was walking back home from the market along the sheltered walkway for pedestrians. She was flung onto a pillar before falling onto the ground.
The victim was pronounced dead on the spot at 6.20am by an ambulance paramedic.
A Land Transport Authority camera managed to capture the entire incident.
You can run, but you can never hide from Singapore’s law.
How he was caught for trying to cover up
After fleeing from the scene, Sy headed home to his condo unit at Spanish Village. He then searched online for a towing service. A tow truck arrived at about 6.20am and left with the car an hour later.
At the workshop in Kaki Bukit, he waited outside from 9.15am before passing the car keys when it opened for business at 10am.
It took five investigation officers to track Sy down, after debris was found from the car, including a broken number plate holder at the scene. The culprit was brought to the workshop to identify his car before any repair work was done.
The car was seized for investigation.
According to The Straits Times, bloodstains and shreds of clothing from Ms Ocampo were found on the car, which was badly damaged with a cracked front windscreen. The bonnet, bumper and headlamp were also broken.
Sy will serve his jail term on 22 June and is out on S$20,000 bail. He was granted by the judge to settle his personal affairs and to have a meal with his family once dining-in is allowed.
He could have been jailed for up to 10 years for his action. For obstructing the course of justice, a jail term of up to seven years or fined, or both could have been imposed.
The maximum punishment for failing to render assistance in a traffic accident where someone is killed or injured is up to a year in jail along with a fine of up to S$3,000.
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