Woman jailed after swapping seats with boyfriend who was banned from driving, lying to police
In a separate incident, the woman mounted a centre divider curb, then went for supper instead of moving the car, which was obstructing the rightmost lane of the road.
Carrissa Loh arrives at the State Courts on Jul 31, 2026. (Photo: CNA/Syamil Sapari)
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SINGAPORE: A woman swapped seats with her then-boyfriend after police signalled for their car to stop, then lied that she had been the driver because he was banned from driving.
Carrissa Loh, 30, was sentenced to two weeks’ jail and fined S$2,400 (US$1,870) on Friday (July 31). She was also disqualified from holding or obtaining any class of driving licence for a year.
Her ex-boyfriend, Marcus Ng Weii, had earlier been sentenced to five weeks’ jail.
Loh pleaded guilty to five charges, including two counts of providing false information to a public servant and one count of driving without reasonable consideration for others on the road. Two other charges were taken into consideration.
According to court documents, the pair were driving along Kallang Paya Lebar Expressway at about 11.40pm on Feb 19, 2023, with Ng behind the wheel, when a police officer signalled for it to stop.
Upon seeing this, Ng drove further ahead before stopping the car and switching seats with Loh.
Ng should not have been driving as he had a disqualification order from when he was caught for drink-driving.
When the police officer caught up with the car and asked the pair who the driver was, Loh claimed that she was the driver.
The pair were then taken to the traffic police headquarters for further investigations. While recording her statement, Loh again claimed to be the driver and that she had received the car and its key from the car owner.
In truth, it was Ng who had received the car and picked up Loh at her home.
Separately, Loh committed other traffic offences in the early hours of Feb 1, 2026, while driving along Middle Road with three friends at the back.
While making a right turn at a junction, she lost control of her car, mounted the centre divider curb and struck a plastic bollard.
Loh and her friends then got out and went for supper instead of moving the car, leaving it obstructing the rightmost lane of the three-lane road.
Police arrived after receiving a call about the accident and towed the car away.
They called Loh and told her to return to the scene, but she refused despite being warned that it was an offence to abandon her car.
Loh did not spend any time in remand for either the 2023 or 2026 incident.
The prosecution asked for two to three weeks’ jail, a fine between S$2,400 and S$3,000, and two years’ disqualification from driving.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Lynda Lee brought up Ng’s jail term and said Loh was “less culpable, because if not for Ng, she would not have committed these offences”.
Asked why the prosecution was seeking a two-year disqualification, she noted that Loh had “fairly recent antecedents”, including beating a red light and careless driving.
“We are asking really for public safety and her own safety, for 24 months,” Ms Lee added.
Loh’s lawyer, Mr John Koh from Avalon Law Corporation, sought two weeks’ jail for his client, a lower fine amount of S$1,900 to S$2,300 and 11 months’ disqualification from driving.
He said no injuries resulted from the accident and asked the court to take that into consideration.
For each count of giving false information to a public servant, she could have been jailed up to two years, fined, or both.
Source: CNA/ng
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