‘Unnecessary death’: Doctor who watched drink-driving accident victim die on operating table

left in a vegetative state

after a drunken driver rammed into him at Tuas Checkpoint in March 2023.

He was sent to NUH, where doctors from the trauma centre attended to him.

The driver, Yoong Kok Kai, had almost double the legal limit of alcohol in his system. He was also speeding.

Yoong was initially sentenced to 3½ years jail, but had his

on Dec 5 after the prosecution appealed against the initial sentence.

Prof Menon said with drink-driving accidents, he has seen a variety of serious injuries, and added: “The psychological distress these patients experience can also be quite significant.”

Priscilla, 31, had to undergo 22 operations after she was flung out of her friend’s car in April 2023.

Her friend had been drinking hard liquor before the accident.

Priscilla, who was treated at NUH, had multiple hand, limbs and spine fractures. She also suffered a broken hip, and had road burns all over her body.

Her left leg was almost amputated due to infections.

After the accident, she would freeze whenever she saw a similar model of her friend’s car. At night, nightmares about the accident kept her awake.

“I would wake up to a wet pillow because of how much I had cried,” she told The Straits Times during an interview on Dec 4.

Dr Jonathan Chan, who is an associate consultant at Singapore General Hospital’s emergency department, said he feels a sense of frustration whenever he encounters drink-driving cases.

He said they were all preventable.

One case in particular has stuck with him. It involved the victim of a drink-driving accident who had sustained serious head injuries.

Said Dr Chan: “The patient was barely breathing, and barely had a heartbeat, and the entire team was involved in trying to syringe in blood to ensure enough circulating volume and to try all means to save the patient’s life.

“I remember us being involved in this case for more than an hour, and it ended with us having to explain to the family members of the patient that although we had tried our best, it was not enough, and that the patient had already died.”

Noting that there are more drink-driving accidents during the festive season, Prof Menon said motorists should be aware that the effects of alcohol are not just physical, such as the impairment of vision or slowing of reflexes.

“One of the earlier signs can be disinhibition, where people become less risk-adverse,” he said.

This could translate into risk-taking behaviour on the road, such as beating red lights, or overtaking other vehicles, which can lead to accidents.

“These perceptions could seep in with just a bit of alcohol influence, even before the physical impediments set in.”

This applies to both heavy and light drinkers, he said.

Dr Chan said: “The simple answer is – don’t do it. Ignore that voice that says, ‘I’m probably fine’. You might survive the crash, you might survive the injuries, but you will have to grapple with the consequences.

“I imagine it like ripples of water, affecting more than just the people involved in the incident. The destruction that lies in the wake of a (drunken driver) goes far beyond that of injury alone.

“There is so much more at play here when one chooses to drink drive.”

He said that there is always a “profound sense of loss” when victims of drink driving succumb to their injuries.

“The moment the time of death is called, the entire room falls silent. The chaos stops.

“But this momentary stillness is then replaced by grief and heartbreak of the spouse, the parent, or the child.

“This is the true price of drink driving.”