Jail for man who resprayed Nissan GTR involved in street race to evade police
A blue Nissan GTR was one of at least 11 cars caught on camera speeding along the Kallang-Paya Lebar Expressway (KPE) in May 2020.
Realising his wife had driven it after he saw footage that was posted online, Tan Choon Hwee took the car to his paint shop to have it resprayed in yellow to evade the police.
On Friday (March 11), Tan, 45, who is a Singaporean, pleaded guilty to intentionally misleading the police and was jailed for one week. Another charge for obstructing the course of justice was taken into consideration during his sentencing.
Court documents did not mention if his wife, Li Xue Ping, 36, or the other drivers involved in the incident have been dealt with.
The court heard that Tan is the owner of a car spray painting business called Spray Paint Shop in Ubi, where his wife also works.
The Nissan GTR is owned by Tan's sister but is usually driven by him and his wife, said Deputy Public Prosecutor Jonathan Lee, who added that Tan paid 25 per cent of the car's price.
On May 16, 2020, Li was driving the car which was one of at least 11 cars speeding along the KPE in excess of the 80kmh limit at around 1am. The pack of cars drove along an 11km stretch that passed through several expressways.
Footage of the incident was captured by an in-car camera of another vehicle in the KPE tunnel and uploaded on Facebook page SG Road Vigilante.
Tan saw the video online that morning, prompting him to take the car to his paint shop on May 18 to alter its appearance.
The police showed up at the shop that night after receiving news that the Nissan was spotted there.
DPP Lee said: "When (the police) arrived, they saw the Nissan in the spray oven at the shop. It had been spray painted with yellow paint, and the (spoiler) and its vehicle licence plate had been removed."
When asked about the car's owner, Tan said it belonged to a customer and that it had been in the shop for several days.
The police were subsequently delayed by up to two days to track the Nissan.
On May 21, Li drove it to the Traffic Police Headquarters, said DPP Lee, who sought one week's jail for Tan.
For lying to the police, Tan could have faced up to two years in jail and a fine.
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