Jail term for drunk actor in hit-and-run

[kidd]

So many brushes with the law by entertainers these days. Here's another one.

Jail term for drunk actor in hit-and-run

MEDIACORP actor Christopher Lee was on Thursday given four weeks’ jail and fined S$4,500 (RM10,350) for drink driving, and being involved in a hit and run accident.

Lee, a Malaysian, was also banned from driving for three years. He is appealing against the jail term and is out on a S$20,000 (RM46,000) bail.

District Judge Terence Chua, explaining his decision, said he was convinced that where there was serious injury, “the starting point” for the court must be a jail term and a driving ban.

Condemning the act of leaving an accident scene as “cowardly and irresponsible,” he said that while a collision between Lee’s car and a motorcycle on Oct 8 last year was an accident, the actor’s not stopping “was a choice.”

Lee: The actor is currently appealing against the jail term and is out on bail
And because he did not think the mitigating factors were persuasive, a custodial sentence was appropriate.

On Lee’s drink driving charge, he said that while the offence was serious, a fine and disqualification were sufficient.

Judge Chua noted that drink driving offenders were often off the mark in assessing their blood alcohol levels, and that the rate of alcohol absorption varied according to sex, build and metabolism, among other factors.

Lee, referred to in court as Lee Meng Soon, looked taken aback by the jail term.

He had admitted to drink driving, inconsiderate driving, failing to render aid to the injured motorcyclist and his pillion rider, and removing his car from the scene without police permission.

The accident happened just after 4am at the junction of Serangoon and Kitchener roads.

The court heard that while the motorcyclist Periakarup- pan Dhandapani was given outpatient treatment, his pillion rider Jeyaraman Senthil Kumar had a toe amputated.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Jason Chan, recounting the accident, said Lee’s car sideswiped the motorcycle. It skidded and both men fell, but Lee drove off.

When police stopped him shortly after, he failed a breathalyser test. He was more than twice over the legal limit.

Lee’s lawyer, Senior Counsel Lok Vi Ming, said in his mitigation plea that Lee, expecting he would drink, had taken taxis to two nightspots that night.

He then walked back to a friend’s Cuscaden Walk apartment where his car was parked and rested until 4am before driving to Little India for supper.

Lok said the actor was shocked and confused after the accident, but never had any intention to flee.

He also did not know how serious the victims’ injuries were, said his lawyer. – The Straits Times / Asia News Network

Source: http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp...05790&sec=asia

[GuGu]

Lee’s lawyer, Senior Counsel Lok Vi Ming, said in his mitigation plea that Lee, expecting he would drink, had taken taxis to two nightspots that night.

He then walked back to a friend’s Cuscaden Walk apartment where his car was parked and rested until 4am before driving to Little India for supper.

Lok said the actor was shocked and confused after the accident, but never had any intention to flee.

He also did not know how serious the victims’ injuries were, said his lawyer. – The Straits Times / Asia News Network

Source: http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp...05790&sec=asia

What the heck is up with these movie stars driving drunk? They're famous and rich, can't they freaken hire a driver when they go out? If he took a taxi to the nightspots why can't he just take a taxi back to his house? If you're drunk DON'T DRIVE!

'Never had any intention to flee'? The guy drove off after causing a motorcycle and it's rider to fall. Don't even use that excuse. Even if he was confused and shocked, driving off shouldn't be the answer. And if he had driven off because of shock he should of had stopped and turned back to help after he realized what he did. You can't get too far before you realize what you've done.

And of course he wouldn't know how serious the victim's injuries were! The guy just drove off! If he'd stop and offer help he might of had known! What, hit someone and drive off because you don't know if they're dead or not? Give me a break.

I'm surprise he's only getting 4 weeks! It should be 4 months! The guy caused an accident and drove off. His alcohol level was two times the legal limit! He should be banned from driving forever!

[kidd]

Compare to his, don't u think Paris Hilton got a tough deal?

Paris Hilton - 45 days (6 weeks and 3 days) - driving on a suspended license, ignoring multiple warnings.

Christopher Lee - 4 weeks - actually caused an accident while drunk driving.

[Guo Xiang]

Compare to his, don't u think Paris Hilton got a tough deal?

Paris Hilton - 45 (6 weeks and 3 days) - driving on a suspended license, ignoring multiple warnings.

Christopher Lee - 4 weeks - actually caused an accident while drunk driving.

Chris is an elite. Fullstop.

[GuGu]

Compare to his, don't u think Paris Hilton got a tough deal?

Paris Hilton - 45 (6 weeks and 3 days) - driving on a suspended license, ignoring multiple warnings.

Christopher Lee - 4 weeks - actually caused an accident while drunk driving.

Huh? Paris Hilton got only 45 days I thought.

[kidd]

Huh? Paris Hilton got only 45 days I thought.

sorry for leaving out the 'days'. But, my '(6 weeks and 3 days)' should make everything clear, right? What do u assume my '6 weeks and 3 days' meant, if not 45 days?

[GuGu]

sorry for leaving out the 'days'. But, my '(6 weeks and 3 days)' should make everything clear, right? What do u assume my '6 weeks and 3 days' meant, if not 45 days?

Oops, sorry I read your post too fast that I saw 45 weeks. LOL.. Sorry!

And yeah, I agree (after reading your post again... ) Chris should get a tougher sentence.

[convoy]

Heh. He is appealing against his jail sentence.

[Guo Xiang]

Heh. He is appealing against his jail sentence.

Of course he's not going to want jail-time. So much for feeling remorseful.

[convoy]

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stori...278852/1/.html

The latest news is that he is not going to appeal against the sentence after all. However, the prosecutor is going to appeal for a heavier sentence....

[LuNaR]

his jail term is rather short compared to paris hilton's.

[Guo Xiang]

his jail term is rather short compared to paris hilton's.

Makes no difference now, doesn't it? Didn't Paris Hilton's sentence got halved or something?

[LuNaR]

Makes no difference now, doesn't it? Didn't Paris Hilton's sentence got halved or something?

are u serious? dammmm

[Guo Xiang]

By the way, he did not got off cheap. Not all charges against him have been finished. Plus the prosecution is also appealing to have a heavier sentence on Chris. So he might end up serve time in jail up to three months or more.

[PeterBanh]

Look like there are two sets of law. One for the ordinary citizens and one for the celebrities.

[kidd]

News Update

Actor drops plan to appeal, says he's filled with 'regret and guilt'

Ansley Ng
[email protected]

ACTOR Christopher Lee (picture) spent his first night in jail yesterday, after deciding not to appeal against a jail sentence for a hit-and-run conviction.
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Accompanied by several friends and his manager, Lee, 35, informed the Subordinate Courts of his decision and surrendered himself yesterday afternoon.
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After completing the paperwork in court, he was taken to the Queenstown Remand Prison in the evening, where he will spend the next four weeks.
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On May 10, the MediaCorp artiste was sentenced to a month in jail and fined $4,500 for drink-driving and fleeing the scene of an accident. He was also banned from driving for three years, after pleading guilty to four charges.
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He had initially appealed against the sentence which his lawyer, Senior Counsel Lok Vi Ming, had argued was "unwarranted and extremely harsh".
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Mr Lok added that his client had not meant to drink and drive and that he never intended to flee the scene.
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The prosecution also filed an appeal last week — saying the sentence was too light.
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Lee is expected to appear in the High Court at a later date for a Magistrate's Appeals hearing, which — if the prosecution's appeal is allowed — could see him spending more time behind bars.
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On Oct 8 last year, Lee was driving to have supper near Kitchener Road after a night of drinking, when he collided with a motorcycle.
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Both the rider and his pillion were injured. Lee drove off but was caught a few hundred metres away.
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A breathalyser test showed Lee's breath alcohol content to be 77 microgrammes of alcohol per 100 millilitres of breath, more than twice the legal limit.
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In a brief statement yesterday that was emailed to the media Lee said he was filled with "regret and guilt".
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"I have decided to drop my appeal," he wrote in Chinese. "I admit my mistake and I will face up and deal with the consequences."
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Lee decided to withdraw his appeal on May 15 just four days after filing it, his manager told Today.
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Lee was prepared to go to prison and had used the past few days to "settle some personal matters", his manager said.
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"He is remorseful and wants to move on and not drag (the case)," the manager added.
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His girlfriend, fellow MediaCorp artiste Fann Wong, is filming in Kuala Lumpur.
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Lee may appear in court tomorrow for a pre-trial hearing on a fifth charge of failing to stop after an accident.

Credit:
http://forums.ohgenki.com/entertainm...rm-163808.html
http://www.todayonline.com/articles/191141.asp

[kidd]

Actor back in court to face another charge for drink-driving incident

Ng Lian Cheong and Wong Siew Ying
31 May 2007, 0154 hrs

SINGAPORE : MediaCorp actor Christopher Lee who has started on his four-week jail term for drink-driving charges was back in court on Wednesday.

He was there for a pre-trial conference on the charge of failing to stop after his car hit a motorcyclist and his pillion rider.

Lee arrived at the Subordinate Court handcuffed and dressed in an orange-coloured prison outfit.

If convicted of the charge of failing to stop after the accident, Lee could face a maximum fine of $1,000 or up to three months jail.

Another pre-trial conference for the case has been set for June 14.

But it unlikely to end there, as the prosecution has already appealed against his four-week sentence, asking for a heavier punishment.

In a statement, MediaCorp said it has decided not to take further action against Lee, apart from suspending his contract for the time being.

It said it believes Lee is truly repentant and deserves a second chance.

MediaCorp said it looks forward to welcoming Lee back to the fold and hopes he will emerge stronger from this experience. - CNA /ls

Credit:
http://forums.ohgenki.com/entertainm...ng-164644.html
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stori...279338/1/.html

[convoy]

The prosecution succeeded in appealing against Christopher Lee's initial sentence, making him to serve another two weeks after his current four weeks consecutively.

He still have another trial pending for failing to stop after causing the accident.

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stori...282419/1/.html

TV actor Christopher Lee to spend more time in jail
By Wong Siew Ying, Channel NewsAsia | Posted: 15 June 2007 1520 hrs

SINGAPORE: MediaCorp actor Christopher Lee, who is currently in jail for causing an accident, will be spending more time in prison.

This came after the prosecution succeeded in appealing against his four-week sentence, which was meted out on 10 May.

At the end of the appeal hearing on Friday, the court decided to overturn an earlier sentence of a S$3,000 fine for his drink-driving offence.

In its place, he was sentenced to two weeks in prison and disqualified from driving for three years.

The jail term will run consecutively with his initial four-week punishment, bringing the total imprisonment to six weeks.

The money he had earlier paid for the fine will be refunded.

Lee's friends attended the hearing and heard how he had caused serious injury to a pillion rider, who had a toe amputated.

In sentencing, Justice Lee Seiu Kin said he was not out to set a new sentencing benchmark.

But he observed that there was a trend recently to merely impose a fine for first-time offenders and this needed to be arrested.

The judge decided that the offence called for a custodial sentence as Lee's blood alcohol content was high and there was evidence to show he had poor control of the vehicle.

The hearing lasted for about three hours and Lee appeared calm and composed.

However, towards the end of the session, he looked stern and was a little fidgety.

Lee's brush with the law is unlikely to end here.

He faces another charge of failing to stop after causing an accident.

A pre-trial conference for that case has been set on 21 June.


- CNA/ir/so

[kidd]

News update.

Source: http://www.straitstimes.com/Latest+N...4.html?vgnmr=1

June 21, 2007

Fifth charge against Christopher Lee dropped

A FIFTH charge against actor Christopher Lee - that he failed to stop after a drink-driving accident - has been withdrawn.
This development comes after last Friday's successful appeal by the prosecution to enhance his penalty for drink-driving from a fine to a jail term.

Expected to be freed last Friday following a four-week jail term, Lee is currently spending two extra weeks behind bars.

He was fined $3,000 for drink driving, $800 for inconsiderate driving, and $700 for removing his car from the scene.

He was earlier sentenced to four weeks' jail for failing to render assistance in a serious traffic accident and banned from driving for three years.

On Oct 8 last year, he had driven off after his car got into a pre-dawn collision with a motorcycle at the junction of Serangoon Road and Kitchener Road.

Stopped by police shortly after, he failed a breathalyser test. He was more than twice over the legal limit.

The motorcyclist was given outpatient treatment, but his pillion rider had a toe amputated.

Last month, Lee pleaded guilty to four charges before a district judge.

The prosecution had stood down the fifth charge that he failed to stop after the accident.

The Court of Appeal recently reserved judgment on whether the High Court was right to rule that failing to stop and removal of a vehicle were 'mutually exclusive'. Hit-and-run drivers typically face these two charges as well as a third - of failing to render assistance.

Lee paid the fines and appealed against the jail term but later withdrew it.

[kidd]

Source: http://newpaper.asia1.com.sg/news/st...134269,00.html

Return of the DRUNKEN HERO Starring Christopher Lee

'I'd fight to stay on'

Actor Christopher Lee spoke up for the first time yesterday on being jailed and about his coming PRstatus review. What he said would make an excellent TV serial, says CHANG MAY CHOON

By Chang May Choon

June 28, 2007

Episode 1:


Crime & Punishment

THIS episode starts with a drunken evening last October, when he drove his Mercedes-Benz out to buy supper.

He hit a motorcyclist and his pillion rider in Little India, and fled.

The 35-year-old actor, who shot to fame in the drama serial Return Of The Condor Heroes, was arrested and charged.

He pleaded guilty to five drink-driving and hit-and-run charges.

He was fined, banned from driving for three years, and jailed for four weeks.

Episode 2:

The Big Slip

ON Monday morning, a thinner-looking Mr Lee emerged from Queenstown Remand Prison.

He hailed a cab, but switched to a friend's Toyota shortly after - as if to shake off the media hot on his heels.

He went home after praying at a temple.

Episode 3:

The Jailbird

YESTERDAY afternoon, Mr Lee spoke at length for the first time since the accident, at a 30-minute news conference at MediaCorp.

Life was hard in prison, he said, but it gave him the time and space to clear his mind, repent and turn over a new leaf.

The scariest part was 'losing freedom', but he kept his cool.

He said he could not reveal too many details - like whether he had his own cell or shared with others.

But he insisted he got no special treatment due to his celebrity status.

'I ate the same food as everyone else, I slept like them, I showered like them and I had one hour of free time like them. It's all the same.'

He even asked other inmates not to treat him any differently, because 'our jobs may be different but in here, we're all the same'.

He has lost 3-4kg - the result of vigorous exercise and not because he was not eating well.

During his free time every day, he would jog or do sit-ups for 40 minutes and then shower for 20 minutes.

Only two people visited him during his stay - his manager and his good friend, former actor Cansen Goh.

He had told the rest - his actress girlfriend Fann Wong, his parents, relatives, friends, and even Fann's parents - not to visit him.

'I brought this upon myself, so I didn't want to trouble anyone else. They've already given me enough moral support.'

When asked if the white hair showing in his short, black crop came from stress in the past month, Mr Lee chuckled.

He then explained he always had white hair, but it was not visible under his dyed locks.

'I have been under a lot of pressure, but I didn't become Yang Guo!' he added, referring to his character in Return Of The Condor Heroes, whose hair turned white overnight due to heartbreak.

Episode 4:

Second chances

HE said he regrets what he calls '100 per cent my mistake'.

'(What I committed) is a serious offence... I will definitely remember it for life, and I'll be reminding myself never to make the same mistake again.

'I spent four weeks in jail, telling myself that I must do this (serve his sentence) in order to face up to my mistakes and punishment. Only then can I start afresh and face up to my fans, friends and relatives.'

Contrary to previous reports that said he never once visited the victims of the accident - a Singaporean man in his mid-30s and an Indian national in his 20s - Mr Lee said he met them briefly at the police station and apologised to them.

He asked for a 'second chance', for him to prove to his fans and detractors alike that he has indeed reformed.

'I hope people will forgive me.'

You would want to believe him - he seemed genuinely earnest.

But you couldn't help noticing how well-rehearsed he sounded.

Afterall, he is a seasoned actor with 12 years of experience.

Some words he repeated with dramatic flair, like how he staunchly 'forbid myself to shed a single tear' throughout the ordeal. He said it twice.

When it came to tough questions, he would pause and frown slightly.

'I'm not in a position to comment,' he would add.

But Mr Lee made it a point to champion the 'drink, don't drive' campaign.

When asked if he had touched any alcohol since October, he said: 'I haven't, but drinking is not the problem here... What's important is the behaviour. If you drink, don't drive, and if you drive, don't drink.'

Episode 5:

The love interest

BY yesterday afternoon, he had already seen his girlfriend, Ms Wong, 36.

'She's very happy that I'm released,' he added.

But he declined to give details of their relationship at this stage, except that 'nothing has changed'.

He would not confirm if he has moved in with Ms Wong like some reports suggested.

Also, it was 'not a good time' to discuss his wedding plans with Ms Wong.

Instead, he asked for 'personal space' for his private life and thanked everyone who is concerned.

Episode 6:

The cliffhanger

AS for the review of his PR status in two week's time, he admitted he is worried, but he hopes to stay on.

'I've worked here 18 years, I'm half a Singaporean... I'd fight to stay on, but if my PR does get revoked, I would still have to face up to it positively.'

Hopefully, the drama stops here.

No sequels, please, thank you very much.