THAM SAIK MUN, SIMON v PUBLIC PROSECUTOR

[2023] SGHC 179 High Court (General Division) 27 June 2023 HC/MA 9163/2022/01 58 min read
12 cases cited

Key facts

Court High Court (General Division)
Decided
Judge Vincent Hoong
Charges / claim Criminal Law, Criminal Procedure and Sentencing
Counsel Attorney-General's Chambers, August Law Corporation, Gregory Gan, Tan Wen Cheng Adrian

Source: [2023] SGHC 179, High Court (General Division), decided — eLitigation. Updated .

Catchwords

Practice Areas

Judges (1)

Counsel (4)

Parties (2)

Case Significance

Tham Saik Mun Simon v Public Prosecutor [2023] SGHC 179 is a grounds of decision of Vincent Hoong J in the General Division of the High Court, delivered on 27 June 2023 in Magistrate's Appeal No 9163 of 2022. This was a drink-driving case in which the appellant, Mr Tham Saik Mun Simon, was charged before the District Court with an offence punishable under s 67(1)(b) of the Road Traffic Act for driving a motor van at an open-air carpark near Block 146 Yishun Street 11 on 14 June 2019 at around 2.00am, with a body alcohol content of 75 microgrammes of alcohol per 100 millilitres of breath, above the prescribed limit of 35 microgrammes. His main defence at trial and on appeal was that his elevated breath alcohol concentration would not have exceeded the prescribed limit under s 71A(2)(b)(ii) of the Road Traffic Act but for his post-driving application of Bonjela gel.

[2023] SGHC 179 explained

THAM SAIK MUN, SIMON v PUBLIC PROSECUTOR ([2023] SGHC 179) is a Singapore judgment decided by the High Court (General Division) on 27 June 2023. It is categorised under Criminal Law and Criminal Procedure and Sentencing. It is a recent decision; within this corpus no later judgment has cited it yet. This page summarises what the reported decision covers and links the primary sources — the full judgment, the statutes it cites, and the other cases it engages with — so the decision can be read in context. It is reference information, not legal advice, and it does not state the outcome or any holding beyond what the official judgment records.

What is [2023] SGHC 179 about?

THAM SAIK MUN, SIMON v PUBLIC PROSECUTOR ([2023] SGHC 179) is a High Court (General Division) decision from 2023. Its published catchwords are “Criminal Law — Statutory offences — Road Traffic Act” and “Criminal Procedure and Sentencing — Sentencing — Appeals”, which indicate the subject matter the judgment addresses. The full reasoning and orders are in the judgment itself, linked below.

Which legislation does [2023] SGHC 179 consider?

The judgment refers to Criminal Procedure Code (Cap 68) and Road Traffic Act (Cap 276). The statutes cited are listed in full on this page, each linking to its primary text.

Summary

Tham Saik Mun Simon appealed against his conviction and sentence for drink-driving under s 67(1)(b) of the Road Traffic Act, having driven with 75 microgrammes of alcohol per 100ml of breath against the 35 limit. His defence was that his elevated reading stemmed from applying Bonjela gel after driving. The court rejected this contention and dismissed his appeal against conviction and sentence.

What was Tham Saik Mun Simon v Public Prosecutor [2023] SGHC 179 about?

It was a drink-driving appeal before Vincent Hoong J, decided on 27 June 2023, in which Tham Saik Mun Simon was charged under s 67(1)(b) of the Road Traffic Act for driving a motor van near Block 146 Yishun Street 11 on 14 June 2019 over the prescribed alcohol limit.

What was the appellant's defence in [2023] SGHC 179?

The appellant's main defence was that his breath alcohol concentration of 75 microgrammes per 100 millilitres, above the 35-microgramme limit, was attributable to his post-driving application of Bonjela gel and would not otherwise have exceeded the limit under s 71A(2)(b)(ii) of the Road Traffic Act.

Statutes Cited

Cases Cited (12)

SG (1)
[2023] SGDC 15
SLR (11)
[1995] 1 SLR(R) 83 [2001] 2 SLR(R) 1 [2006] 4 SLR(R) 45 [2007] 2 SLR(R) 983 [2010] 1 SLR 719 [2011] 1 SLR 767 [2018] 2 SLR 249 [2020] 1 SLR 486 [2021] 1 SLR 67 [2022] 1 SLR 1240 [2023] 1 SLR 199

Related cases

Other Singapore judgments involving the same parties or counsel.

Referenced in

Statutes interpreted in this judgment

Judgment

Read the full judgment on the official Singapore Courts portal.

Read on eLitigation

Source: eLitigation ([2023] SGHC 179)