by Elena Chong
A SINGAPOREAN celebrity chef was jailed for two weeks and fined
a total of $6,300 on Tuesday for failing to give his blood specimen
and two other traffic offences.
Justin Quek Boon Siew, 48, was also banned from driving all
vehicles for four years.
He admitted to failing to give his blood specimen without
reasonable excuse to a police officer at Tanglin police division
when he was arrested for suspected drink driving on Aug 6 last
year. He also pleaded guilty to driving along Holland Road at about
3.45am that day without a valid Class 3 driving licence and
insurance coverage.
The homegrown chef has returned here to run The Sky On 57, a
restaurant bar, on the sprawling rooftop garden at Marina Bay Sands
integrated resort. He has been away in Shanghai and Taipei running
his own high-end restaurants for the past six years.
A traffic court heard that Quek was spot checked that day and
was reeking of alcohol. His eyes were blood shot and his gait
unsteady. As he could not give a breath sample, he was taken to the
police station where he failed to complete the breath evidential
analyser test after three tries.
He also complained of heart problem. Despite a warning, Quek
refused to sign the warning form and give his blood specimen.
Investigation showed that he did not have a valid driving licence
nor was he covered by insurance.
Pleading for leniency, his lawyer Julian Tay told District Judge
Salina Ishak that Quek had a kidney transplant in 1999 and is on
immunosuppressive drugs.
It was under those circumstances that he was very concerned that
the giving of his blood specimen might lead him to contract
infection which would entail a substantial risk to his health.
Counsel also pointed out that Quek holds a valid driving licence
in Shanghai.
