At present, a first-time drink driving offender may be fined between S$2,000 (US$1,546) and S$10,000, be jailed for up to 12 months, or both.
A repeat offender may be fined between S$5,000 and S$20,000, jailed for up to two years, or both.
First-time offenders will also be disqualified from driving for a minimum period of two years, and repeat offenders will be disqualified for at least five years.
The review of the legal alcohol limits for motorists was announced by Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam in a parliamentary reply in September last year.
MHA is also looking at tightening the demerit points system for drivers. This may include reducing the number of points that can be accumulated before a driver is suspended and also increasing the suspension periods.
“We will not decide on this lightly, but it may be necessary in order to arrest the deteriorating situation, increase deterrence and keep dangerous motorists off the roads,” said Ms Sim.
Responding to a suggestion by MP Cassandra Lee (PAP-West Coast-Jurong West) to consider raising the penalties for certain cases of dangerous driving, Ms Sim said she agreed that penalties should be higher in cases where a driver puts another person in danger on purpose.
“We will study this with a view towards introducing a new offence to tackle such behaviour, with a higher maximum penalty than the existing offence of dangerous driving causing death,” she added.
When MHA announced in May last year that harsher penalties for speeding would take effect from Jan 1 this year, observers noted that increasing the number of demerit points as a penalty is a stronger deterrent than higher fines, given the higher incomes in Singapore.
Ms Sim said that in creating road safety solutions, MHA will also give due consideration to the perspectives of vocational drivers, having consulted the transport-related unions.
Foreign-registered vehicles are also another concern as they form a significant collective presence on Singapore’s roads, so there is also a need to strengthen deterrence and enforcement against errant drivers among them, she added.
“We are working on several measures and will announce details when ready,” said Ms Sim.
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