Jail for lawyer charged with dangerous driving, failing to stop after accident with motorcycle on KPE

Samuel Devaraj
The Straits Times
Feb 23, 2024

A senior lawyer who hit a motorcycle while driving and did not stop after the accident was sentenced to two months’ jail on Feb 23.

Gregory John Fong Mun Yung, 50, who is from Fong & Fong law firm, pleaded guilty to one charge of dangerous driving causing hurt and another charge of failing to stop after an accident.

He will also be disqualified from holding or obtaining all classes of driving licences for 24 months after his release.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Selene Yap said Fong was driving in the middle lane of the Kallang-Paya Lebar Expressway on June 13, 2021, at about 5.50pm when the motorcyclist, a 43-year-old Malaysian man, was riding in front of him in the same lane.

As Fong overtook the motorcycle on its left, he was close to the motorcycle, and in between it and another car in the leftmost lane of the three-lane expressway.

During this manoeuvre, Fong collided into the motorcycle.

He then overtook the car driving on the leftmost lane and left the accident location. A witness reported the incident to the police.

Fong was subsequently located.

On the day of the accident, a police officer who prepared vehicle damage reports for the motorcycle and the car noted that there were scratches on the right side of Fong’s car and that its right wing mirror was broken and had fallen off at the accident location.

The motorcycle’s left mirror was also ripped off, and the vehicle had dents near the foot pedal and scratches.

The motorcyclist went to the emergency department of Tan Tock Seng Hospital on the day of the accident and was found to have abrasions on his arms and legs. He was given 30 days of hospitalisation leave.

DPP Yap said that at the time of the accident, the weather was fine, the road surface was dry, the traffic flow was light and visibility was good.

She asked the court to sentence Fong to two to three months’ jail.

Fong’s lawyer, Mr Hoon Ang Ping, from A P Law Practice, asked for a fine, saying his client has a clean driving record and that he was remorseful. He said Fong is a senior member of the Bar and that the incident is entirely out of character for him.

“He has taken his own time and used his qualifications to give back to society with his pro bono work.” he added.

Mr Hoon said that on the day the of the accident, Fong was heading towards Lornie Road with his wife and two daughters. He added that Fong’s car was next to a vehicle whose driver was behaving erratically, and that the accident with the motorcycle happened when he was trying to avoid it.

Mr Hoon said Fong did not stop on the expressway as he felt it was unsafe to do so, and that he eventually returned to the scene but did not see the motorcyclist.

For dangerous driving causing hurt, Fong could have been jailed for up to two years, fined up to $10,000 or both.

He could have been jailed for up to three months, fined up to $1,000 or both for failing to stop after an accident.