Man charged with driving under the influence of etomidate, killing motorcyclist

A motorcyclist collided with the stationary vehicle and both the rider and his pillion fell into the path of oncoming traffic.

As a result, the 20-year-old motorcyclist died from serious injuries while his 28-year-old male pillion rider suffered fractures to his spine and ankle, along with liver lacerations and other injuries.

Puah allegedly fled the scene in his car immediately after the accident.

The police arrested Puah within 13 hours of the police report and etomidate, a Class C drug under the Misuse of Drugs Act, was detected in his blood.

His driving licence was suspended immediately.

If convicted of driving under the influence of a drug as a repeat offender, he could be jailed for up to two years, fined between S$5,000 and S$20,000 and banned from driving for at least five years.

For dangerous driving causing death, he could be jailed for between two and eight years. As a “serious repeat offender”, he could be jailed between two and four years and banned from driving for at least 15 years.

Puah has other existing charges pending.

These include stealing an Audi A3 owned by Shariot Car Sharing on two occasions, using a woman’s Shariot login credentials to rent a car, driving without insurance and receiving US$1.2 million and remitting it to bank accounts on the instructions of a criminal.

A lawyer mentioning his case on behalf of Puah’s lawyer, Mr Andy Yeo, asked for the case to be adjourned for a pre-trial conference, which was fixed for Jun 26.