Ex-actor Edmund Chen’s jail term over accident that injured motorcyclist cut from 5 days to 1 day
Selina Lum
The Straits Times
July 20, 2026
Former actor Edmund Chen, 64, had his jail sentence of five days cut to one day by the High Court on July 20 for his role in a traffic accident.
A motorcyclist suffered multiple wrist fractures from the incident.
His new lawyer, Senior Counsel Abraham Vergis from Providence Law Asia, had sought the maximum fine of $5,000, arguing the custodial threshold had not been crossed in his case.
The five-day jail term was imposed by a district judge on Jan 29 despite the prosecution seeking a fine of between $3,000 and $5,000.
In allowing Chen’s appeal, Justice Hri Kumar Nair said five days’ jail was manifestly excessive, although he was unable to conclude that the district judge was wrong in his assessment that the custodial threshold was crossed.
Chen, whose legal name is Tan Kai Yuan, had pleaded guilty to one count of causing grievous hurt to the 21-year-old motorcyclist while driving a car without consideration for other road users.
The accident took place around noon on March 4, 2025, along the AYE towards the CTE.
Chen, who was on the fourth lane of the road, had slowed his car down almost to a complete stop before filtering across the third lane.
He had wanted to enter the CTE/SLE but had not formed up in the correct lane ahead of a split in the road.
The motorcyclist, who was coming from behind, crashed into Chen’s car despite swerving to avoid him.
Chen stopped to help the victim, who underwent surgery at Singapore General Hospital for multiple wrist fractures.
In addition to the jail term, Chen was also disqualified from driving for five years.
Dashcam footage of the accident from Chen’s car was played in court.
Vergis noted that Chen had turned on his indicator lights, and that the motorcycle had been obstructed from view by a passing car due to the curve in the road.
He pointed out that the footage showed that Chen had cut across the white chevron markings on the road after the collision.
One of the sentencing factors considered by the district judge was that Chen had flouted traffic rules by changing lanes across the chevron lines.
Vergis also argued that the nature and location of the injuries suffered by the victim fell on the less severe spectrum of grievous hurt.
The fractures were localised and in the extremities of the body, and the surgery was done under local anaesthesia, indicating the injuries were not serious, he said.
The victim was hospitalised for two days and given 99 days of hospitalisation leave. He did not suffer permanent disability.
The lawyer said: “This is not the kind of accused person that the court needs to put behind bars.”
He said the maximum $5,000 fine and a five-year driving ban was sufficient, and that Chen has been severely traumatised by the episode and would probably not drive in the future.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Ben Tan maintained that a high fine of up to $5,000 and a five-year driving disqualification should be imposed.
The prosecutor said while the district judge landed on the higher side of the spectrum, he did not commit an error which warranted intervention by an appellate court.
He noted that as Chen was carrying out the manoeuvre, the drivers of two passing cars sounded the horn to warn him, but he persisted.
Speaking to reporters before the hearing, Chen said he had taken along five days’ worth of medication with him, and that he and his family did not sleep the previous night.
Chen was previously represented by Invictus Law’s Josephus Tan and Cory Wong.
After he was sentenced, he engaged Kelvin Ong and Dickson Chew from Contigo Law and discharged his previous team.
Chen used to be a household name, appearing in multiple popular television drama series including Star Maiden and Patrol.
He left show business to take care of his daughter, Chen Yixin, when she was born in 2000, but later took on occasional acting roles, including in television drama series Life Less Ordinary in 2017.
Chen is married to veteran actress Xiang Yun, known for her roles in classic local dramas such as The Awakening, Double Happiness and The Little Nyonya.
Chen has two children. Both Yixin and his son, Chen Xi, are also in the entertainment industry.
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