Jail, fine for repeat drink driving lawyer who got into accident and lied to police
Shaffiq Alkhatib
The Straits Times
Nov 7, 2025
A lawyer, who was convicted of drink driving in 2006 and fined $2,200, went on to commit a similar offence in 2024.
After a drinking session, Steven John Lam Kuet Keng, 56, was driving along Bukit Panjang Road when he lost control of the vehicle and it struck some railings shortly before 12.30am on April 7, 2024.
Lam lied to the police later that morning, claiming that somebody else was driving the vehicle at the time.
On Nov 7, the co-founder and director of Templars Law was sentenced to eight weeks' jail and fined $18,000.
The Singaporean was also disqualified from holding or obtaining all classes of driving licences for a period of six years from his release date.
Lam, who was called to the Singapore Bar in 1996, had pleaded guilty to driving without due care and attention, drink driving, and two counts of giving false information to a public servant.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Jonathan Tan told the court that Lam had earlier gone to a friend's home on April 6, 2024, and consumed about five cans of beer that evening.
He decided to drive home at around midnight and got behind the wheel of his car.
Lam was driving along Bukit Panjang Road towards Choa Chu Kang Road when he lost control of the vehicle, which mounted a kerb onto a divider and struck multiple guard railings.
He remained in his car after the accident and several passers-by came forward to ensure his well-being.
Three witnesses, including one identified in court documents as A3, then saw Lam getting out of the car and walking to a nearby bus stop. He subsequently returned to his car and sat in the driver's seat.
The DPP said Lam then tried but failed to move the vehicle out of the divider.
Lam got out of the vehicle again, and footage from a nearby camera showed that he appeared to be making a phone call.
The DPP said: "While holding his phone to his ear with his left hand, he reached out his right hand to flag an oncoming blue taxi. Seeing that the accused was going to leave…A3 quickly walked towards the accused, pointing at him and shouting to stop him from leaving.
"A3 then gestured with his left hand to ask the taxi to drive off and used his right hand to point at the bus stop to ask the accused to wait for the police to arrive."
Lam still tried to board the taxi despite A3's intervention, the court heard.
A3 approached him to ensure that he did not leave. Another witness also came forward to assist A3 by gesturing with his left hand to ask the taxi to leave the scene.
After the taxi drove away, Lam followed the two witnesses, and they made their way towards his car.
But the lawyer later used his right hand to flag an oncoming yellow taxi.
A3 had to physically restrain him from approaching the taxi, and the two men got into a tussle.
A3 and three other witnesses later surrounded Lam to ensure that he did not leave the scene.
Two Traffic Police (TP) officers arrived there soon after, and one noticed that Lam reeked of alcohol.
Lam admitted to the officer that he had earlier consumed alcohol, but lied to the latter, claiming that an "unknown friend" had been tasked to drive him home.
DPP Tan said: "The accused claimed that he was seated at the back seat of his car, and had fallen asleep… The accused then alleged that he saw the unknown friend run away from the driver's seat."
Despite claiming that the driver was his friend, Lam refused to provide any details about this individual, claiming that he did not know his name or number.
Acting on such information, the officer directed TP resources to search the vicinity of the nearby Lompang Road for the purported unknown friend who had "escaped".
Lam was arrested after he failed a breathalyser test, and he was taken to the TP headquarters in Ubi Avenue 3.
He was then found to have 61 micrograms of alcohol in every 100 millilitres of breath. The prescribed limit is 35 mcg of alcohol in the same amount of breath.
Lam was in an interview room at the headquarters later that morning when he repeated similar lies to another officer who recorded his statement.
On Nov 7, DPP Tan urged the court to sentence Lam to up to 10 weeks' jail and a fine of up to $18,000, adding: "The sentence imposed must send the unequivocal message to the accused that drink driving is intolerable and abhorrent."
In mitigation, defence lawyer Ramesh Tiwary told the court that Lam is remorseful and had acted out of character that day.
He also said that his client had contributed to society and no one was injured in the accident.
