A woman in Singapore was sentenced to 17 weeks’ imprisonment after her father’s in-car camera exposed her lie about causing an accident.
Audrey Ong Hui Ling, aged 27, pleaded guilty to four charges, including perverting the course of justice, which led to her conviction. Additionally, she will be disqualified from driving for two years starting from her date of release.
Her defense lawyer, Mr. S.S. Dhillon, argued that her father had acted out of paternal instinct. The father, David Ong, who will face court in August, is also charged with perverting the course of justice and was present in court with his daughter during the trial.
Background
The incident took place in 2019 when Audrey, without a valid driving license, drove the car rented by her father, who worked as a Grab driver at the time.
On October 15, 2019, Audrey made a U-turn at Tampines Avenue 2 without checking for oncoming traffic, resulting in a collision with a motorcyclist.
The motorcyclist, who had the right of way, suffered a fractured wrist in the accident. Immediately after the collision, David allegedly offered to take responsibility for the incident and told Audrey that he would assume her place. She agreed to his proposal, and when the police arrived, David claimed to be the driver of the car.
David maintained this false account throughout the police statements and attributed the accident to his negligence and fatigue caused by long working hours.
In September 2020, he pleaded guilty to a charge of causing grievous hurt by a negligent act that endangers the life or safety of others. However, the truth eventually came to light when lawyers representing the victim discovered an audio recording from David’s in-car camera.
The recording contained a conversation between the father and daughter, revealing their conspiracy and leading to the exposure of Audrey’s lie.
Deputy public prosecutor Jean Goh sought a jail term of four months and one week to six months and two weeks for Audrey. Goh argued that Audrey not only caused grievous harm to the victim but also engaged in a prolonged conspiracy with her father to shift the blame onto him.
It was revealed that Audrey confessed to the truth only when faced with undeniable evidence against her. In mitigation, Mr. Dhillon emphasized the close relationship between Audrey and her father, stating that David had taken the blame out of paternal instinct and not because Audrey had instructed him to do so.
Mr. Dhillon also mentioned that David no longer works as a Grab driver and expressed the hardships Audrey experienced, witnessing her father serve a five-day sentence for her offense.