Singapore actor Gurmit Singh gets S$800 fine, 3-month driving ban for speeding

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Comedian and actor Gurmit Singh was fined S$800 (RM2,491) and given a three-month driving ban today for speeding.

The 56-year-old, whose full name is Gurmit Singh Virk Chainchal Singh, pleaded guilty to a single charge under Section 63(4) of the Road Traffic Act.

He had clocked 131km/h while driving his Audi along Woodlands Avenue 12 towards Seletar Expressway on April 12 this year at about 9.30pm. This was 61km/h above the speed limit of 70km/h.

He appeared in court dressed in a dark grey dress shirt and blue disposable mask.

When a police prosecutor said the prosecution was seeking an order to disqualify him from driving, he said his wife had driven him to court, and that he hoped he could keep his licence and pay the fine.

“I know I drove fast but I have a story to tell… I was driving to get my son from his internship workplace, and I noticed a flapping sound from the car,” Singh told District Judge Salina Ishak.

He added that he wanted his son to hear the sound but that it only “comes out at 100km/h”.

“I’m not saying I should drive at that speed on that street, but it was just a short spurt. I don’t know how I clocked 131km/h. I’m not a reckless driver. It was just a one-off thing.

TODAY

“But again, I realise I should not be driving so fast at that stretch of road,” he said.

When the judge said Singh could have put both his own and his son’s lives in danger, he responded: “I understand, Your Honour. I regret doing what I did.”

For speeding, first-time offenders can be fined up to S$1,000 or jailed for up to three months, while repeat offenders can be fined up to S$2,000 or jailed for up to six months.

Those convicted can also be disqualified from holding or obtaining a driving licence.

Singh is most known for portraying nouveau riche contractor Phua Chu Kang in the sitcom Phua Chu Kang Pte Ltd, which ran from 1997 to 2007 on Mediacorp’s Channel 5.

He was a full-time Mediacorp artiste from 1994 to 2014, announcing then that he was giving up his television career to spend more time with his family.

Most recently, when the Covid-19 pandemic hit last year, he reprised the role three times on the gov.sg channel.

Last month, he appeared in a two-minute-long music video in support of Singapore’s vaccination campaign, which was mentioned by news outlets in Australia and the United Kingdom.

Back in 2003 during the severe acute respiratory syndrome (Sars) outbreak, the eccentric contractor rapped about taking precautions and practising good hygiene in the famous Sar-Vivor rap song. – TODAY