The law will prevent less egregious offenders from being overly penalised, as other road users might have contributed to the accident. - Photo: ST file
SINGAPORE: A Bill was passed on Tuesday (Jan 7) that will remove mandatory minimum sentences for first-time traffic offenders who commit dangerous driving offences that cause grievous hurt or death, in a bid to prevent them from being overly punished.
However, road users who cause accidents leading to death or serious injuries will still face the full force of the law and can be handed maximum jail sentences.
The passing of the Road Traffic (Miscellaneous Amendments) Bill means that when the law is in force, it will prevent less egregious offenders from being overly penalised, as other road users might have contributed to the accident.
Minister of State for Home Affairs Muhammad Faishal Ibrahim said that with the removal of minimum sentences for first-time offenders, corresponding changes will also be made to lower the mandatory minimum imprisonment term for repeat offenders.
Specifically, for dangerous driving offences by repeat offenders causing death, the mandatory minimum imprisonment term will be lowered from four years to two years.
For dangerous driving offences causing grievous hurt, it will be lowered from two years to one year.
The maximum penalties will remain at 10 years’ jail for causing grievous hurt and 15 years’ jail for causing death.
Associate Professor Faishal said the adjustment aims to create a more gradual progression in sentencing between first-time and repeat offenders.
He said the amendments do not mean the Government is signalling a more lenient stance towards repeat offenders, and noted that the courts may, in fact, impose sentences higher than these mandatory minimum terms.
“I want to also emphasise that there is no change to the way we are treating serious offenders, especially those who drive irresponsibly while under the influence of alcohol or drugs,” said Prof Faishal. “They will continue to receive severe penalties, as well as mandatory minimum penalties where grievous hurt or death is caused.”
Yip Hon Weng (Yio Chu Kang), Non-Constituency MP Hazel Poa and Dennis Tan (Hougang) were among the MPs who had concerns over the Bill.
Yip asked if the Government was sending the wrong message with the Bill and “going soft on offenders”, while Poa said the Progress Singapore Party cannot support the amendment to remove the mandatory minimum sentences of such first-time offenders at a time of rising traffic fatalities and fatal speeding accidents.
According to statistics released by the Traffic Police in August 2024, there were more fatal accidents caused by speeding and drink driving in the first half of that year, a period which also saw more people killed on Singapore’s roads.
Seventy-three people died in the first half of 2024 – two more than the 71 deaths in the same period in 2023. Most of those killed were motorcyclists and their pillion riders.
In response to the MPs, Prof Faishal said the Ministry of Home Affairs has assessed that the amendments are necessary to recalibrate the balance between deterrence and proportionality.
“I wish to reiterate that the intent of this amendment is not to signal a more lenient stance towards egregious motorists, nor to let them off with lighter sentences. We will continue to punish those who exhibit irresponsible driving,” he said.
“The maximum penalties are stiff and remain unchanged. Judges will have full flexibility to decide the appropriate sentence, up to the maximum sentence prescribed in the law, depending on the facts of each case.”
Separately, another change in the law will give the prosecution the flexibility to proceed on a “hurt” charge even when “grievous hurt” is caused.
This is to enable the prosecution to take into account other circumstances that could have been involved.
They include the nature of the victim’s injury and whether other road users were partly responsible for the accident.
Another change in the law states that the owner of a seized vehicle must take back his vehicle within a specified period if he lays claim to it.
The Straits Times reported in November 2024 that there were more than 1,000 vehicles at the Traffic Police’s vehicle pound in Airport Road at the end of October that year, with two of them having been there since 2015.
With the new Bill, the Traffic Police can charge owners for storage if they do not collect a seized vehicle on time, and the daily storage fees must be paid before the vehicle is released.
The police can also dispose of the seized vehicle a month after the end of the collection period, or sell it via an auction. The new laws will also apply to vehicles currently impounded. - The Straits Times/ANN
