Suspension for S'pore doctor who drove after drinking and tried to swop seats before police checks
Yap Wei Qiang
The Straits Times
March 2, 2026
A doctor has been suspended from medical practice for four months following his failed attempt to swop seats with his front seat passenger before reaching a police roadblock, as he had been driving after drinking beer.
Dr Nah Kwang Meng Joshua, who had been practising at Dr Nah & Lee Family Clinic in Woodlands, was fined $4,000 in October 2023 after he pleaded guilty to one count of attempting to perform an act that could pervert the course of justice.
Following Dr Nah's conviction at the State Courts, the Singapore Medical Council (SMC) on Jan 19 brought him before a disciplinary tribunal, which found him guilty of an improper act or conduct which brings disrepute to the profession.
The tribunal chaired by Dr Tham Tat Yean, chief executive of a general practitioner chain, censured and suspended Dr Nah from practising for four months.
In the tribunal's decision grounds published on March 2, it was revealed that Dr Nah drank about three to four glasses of beer over dinner on July 14, 2022.
After the dinner and as he was driving along Sophia Road towards Upper Wilkie Road with a male passenger in the front seat, he spotted a police roadblock at around 11.24pm.
He asked his passenger to swop seats and continued to try to persuade the passenger to do so despite being rejected several times.
Dr Nah then got out of the car and was approached by a police officer. He claimed that he was retrieving surgical masks from the rear boot to pass to the passenger.
He subsequently failed the alcohol breathalyser test and was arrested. He was later found to have 32 micrograms (mcg) of alcohol in 100ml of breath – below the prescribed legal limit of 35mcg.
The legal limit is set to be lowered to 15mcg of alcohol per 100ml of breath later in 2026.
SMC asked for a suspension term of seven to eight months, considering Dr Nah had been a registered doctor since May 2, 2007, which made him a senior doctor.
In the written plea of mitigation, Dr Nah's lawyers said there was no actual obstruction of justice and that no actual harm was caused to public confidence as his attempt at avoiding being identified as the driver was detected by the police almost instantly. In addition, he did not commit this act in his professional capacity.
In deciding the penalties, the tribunal noted that Dr Nah's actions showed that he was well aware that there were serious consequences if he was found to be drink driving, and "utmost in his mind was that he wanted to cover up the possibility of being found to be drinking and driving".
The tribunal said that misconduct not done in a professional capacity would be punished upon conviction. It also agreed with SMC that Dr Nah's seniority was an aggravating factor.
Besides the suspension and censure, Dr Nah also had to submit a written undertaking to the SMC that he would not engage in the conduct again or any similar conduct, and to pay the costs and expenses of the proceedings, including the cost of SMC's lawyers.
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