SINGAPORE – A man drove a car in June 2022 shortly after consuming unprescribed medication, including cough syrup, and ended up mounting a kerb.
Muhammad Fahmi Johari, who was a private-hire driver at the time, was later found to have more than 15 substances in his blood sample, many of which could affect a person’s ability to do a number of things, including driving a vehicle.
They included codeine, a substance found in some cough syrups, diazepam – which is used to treat anxiety disorders – and pseudoephedrine, which is found in several medications used to treat the common cold as well as allergies.
In 2023, he got into a separate accident while driving a second car, causing the driver of the other vehicle to suffer a fracture to his little finger.
On May 11, Fahmi, 40, was sentenced to four weeks’ jail and a fine of $6,000.
He had pleaded guilty to offences, including driving while under the influence of drugs and intoxicating substances, and causing grievous hurt to another person while driving without due care and attention.
For the latter offence, he was also disqualified from holding or obtaining all classes of driving licences for a period of six years from May 11.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Valerie Lim told that court that Fahmi had admitted to consuming around 90ml of cough syrup on the evening of June 19, 2022, even though he did not have prescription for the medication.
