SINGAPORE: A teenager who allegedly drove multiple cars, including his grandmother’s, while underage and uninsured was handed 18 charges on Thursday (May 28).
The 18-year-old had been arrested after a high-speed police chase in which he collided with six vehicles before fleeing on foot.
The teen cannot be named under the Children and Young Persons Act as he was under the age of 18 at the time of the alleged offences.
According to a police statement, the teen was involved in three separate cases of underage driving.
The first was on Jan 30, 2025, when the then-sixteen-year-old allegedly took his grandmother’s car without her knowledge, as the ignition key was in the unlocked vehicle.
He drove for about one hour before returning the vehicle, the police said.
His grandmother called for police assistance after discovering her car missing.
About a year later, on Jan 8 this year, the police discovered that the teen had driven a deregistered vehicle with a false number plate from Haig Road to Marina Bay Sands.
A week later at about 10.50pm on Jan 16, traffic police officers on patrol along Paya Lebar Road began pursuit of the teen when he sped off in a car upon seeing them.
He was 17 when he allegedly drove at high speed during the pursuit, reaching 174kmh on the East Coast Parkway and 96kmh along Guillemard Road.
The speed limits were 90kmh and 40kmh respectively.
The police said he also ran red lights and drove against the flow of traffic.
The teen allegedly collided with five stationary vehicles along Paya Lebar Road and Guillemard Road, eventually stopping after hitting a sixth stationary car at Marine Parade Road and Still Road South.
He got out on foot to flee but was arrested.
The vehicle the teen was driving in this third incident was found to be a deregistered car bearing a false number plate.
A vaporiser and a pod were found in the car, but no further action was taken in this respect as there was insufficient evidence, the police said.
The teen was charged with multiple offences, including dangerous driving causing hurt, driving while underage, using a deregistered vehicle, using a vehicle without insurance coverage and failing to stop after an accident.
He indicated that he would be pleading guilty and was given a date to do so in July.
Of the penalties he faces, the heftiest is for dangerous driving causing hurt – for which he can be jailed for up to two years, fined up to S$10,000, or both.
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