A 63-year-old man has pleaded guilty to drink driving and performing a rash act endangering human life after driving his car into a swimming pool at Seletar Country Club following a corporate dinner where he consumed alcohol.
William Teng Guan How entered his guilty plea on 7 Apr 2025 and will be sentenced on 9 Apr.
Alcohol-Impaired Driver Leaves Trail of Destruction at Country Club
On 27 Aug 2024, Teng attended a golf event at Seletar Country Club, followed by a corporate dinner at approximately 7:45pm where he consumed two shots of whiskey. Around 9:30pm, he decided to drive home despite being intoxicated.
Advertisements
According to court proceedings, Teng took a wrong turn within the club’s compound. Instead of making a sharp left turn to stay on the road, he drove into an off-limits area, beginning an eight-minute destructive journey captured on CCTV footage.
Between 9:37pm and 9:45pm, Teng knocked over plants, hit and dislodged a water pipe causing water to gush out, dented a metal shed, damaged garden lights, and drove through a playground before ultimately reaching the pool area, which was closed at the time.
Footage played in court showed Teng driving his vehicle into the club’s swimming pool, then reversing out, before driving the front half of his car into the pool again.
The incident damaged drain covers, a handgrip, tiles at the edge of the pool, and a railing.
Security Response and Legal Consequences of Drink Driving Incident
After 9:45pm, a security guard alerted a senior security shift leader about a car in the swimming pool. Upon arrival, the security leader found Teng in the driver’s seat and knocked on the window to offer help.
Teng did not lower the window but attempted to reverse out of the pool unsuccessfully.
The security leader helped Teng exit the vehicle and escorted him to the security office before returning to assess the damage.
When the leader returned to the office, Teng had wandered off and was later found at the golf complex within the club grounds.
Advertisements
Police were called around 10pm, and Teng was arrested after failing a breathalyzer test. His breath alcohol content measured 63 micrograms of alcohol in 100ml of breath, nearly double the legal limit of 35 micrograms.
The total cost of repairs for the damage, which affected at least 10 different structures, amounted to $17,969. Teng made full restitution to the country club on 19 Sep 2024.
In court, Deputy Public Prosecutor Darren Ang sought a sentence of eight to 10 weeks’ jail for the rash conduct charge, plus a $5,000 fine with a disqualification period of 30 to 36 months.
Teng’s lawyer, Mark Cheng from PKWA Law Practice, requested a heavy fine instead of jail time, arguing that the case didn’t cross the custodial threshold.
District Judge Koo Zhi Xuan disagreed, stating: “I struggle to see how a fine in this case would be sufficient, and not a travesty of justice, to put it mildly. He was clearly unfit to drive; he was not in a state to understand what was happening.”
Advertisements
The judge added that while Teng hadn’t injured anyone, “a vehicle is still a lethal weapon in the hands of someone ill-equipped to handle it,” and noted it was “fortunate he got himself stuck in the country club” rather than accessing public roads.
Court records showed Teng had multiple compounded traffic offenses between 2016 and 2017, including speeding, driving across a road divider, and failing to stop at a red light.
For drink driving, first-time offenders can be jailed up to a year and fined up to $10,000, while repeat offenders face up to two years’ jail and fines up to $20,000.
These five GRCs could see the tightest battle in GE2025; here’s why:
Read Also:
- Trump Exempts Electronics from 125% China Tariffs, Sparing Smartphones and Computers
- Elderly Charity Shop Owner Baffled by Over 50 Boxes of Mystery Donation Blocking Store Entrance
- DNA from Two Men Discovered on Murdered Singaporean Woman’s Clothing as Court Orders Comparison with Main Suspect
- Former Police Officer Convicted in Fatal Maid Abuse Case That Left Victim Weighing Just 24kg
- Teen Arrested in Johor for Selling AI-Generated Fake Nudes of School Peers for RM2 Each
