watching what i blog is such a pain in the arse. being politically correct and avoiding misunderstanding is just so irritating. when i type something but someone else takes it to mean it's to be directed at them when it is not so in the first place. how to blog what i think without people getting mired in the trap of misunderstanding? ambiguity is so... aimless.

on another note with regards to my life in the future:

"Soldier knocked down cyclist after drinking binge
By Chong Chee Kin - Straits Times (27 Feb 2004)

SINGAPORE Armed Forces First Sergeant Koe Seng Wah had already had too many glasses of beer when he got behind the wheel of his car on Sept 13 last year.

It did not stop him from exceeding the speed limit though. Shortly after he left Tengah Air Base at about 4.15pm, he hit a 23-year-old cyclist, who died at the scene.

Yesterday, Koe, 31, was jailed four months for causing the death of the cyclist through his recklessness.

A district court heard that the breath analyser test he took about two hours after the accident showed he had 78 micrograms of alcohol in 100ml of his breath - more than twice the legal limit of 35 micrograms per 100ml.

The cyclist, Nanyang Technological University engineering undergraduate Alvin Boey, was on the road with a group of friends in Jalan Bahar, which has a speed limit of 60kmh, when the accident happened.

Koe, who was driving his car at about 70kmh, was on his way to pick up his wife and year-old son, when he spotted Mr Boey and his friends on the inside lane, travelling in the same direction.

Instead of slowing down or moving to the right lane, Koe continued driving on the inside lane at the same speed, and hit Mr Boey's bicycle.

The undergrad was flung onto the windscreen of Koe's car, landing so heavily that he cracked it before ending up on the road.

Investigations later revealed that Koe had finished work at the airbase at about noon and gone to the mess hall where he drank beer for about four hours until he left.

In his mitigation, he told the court he had a clean driving record before the accident. He also said he was remorseful and had swerved right after he hit Mr Boey to avoid running over him.

He could have been jailed for up to two years and fined."

(Extracted from The Straits Times Online Forum Section)

Fatal drink-driving case sends the wrong message

I AM appalled at the light sentence - four months' jail - First Sergeant Koe Seng Wah received for killing a cyclist while driving under the influence of alcohol ('Soldier knocked down cyclist after drinking binge'; ST, Feb 27).

In another article on the same day ('Cop gets a year's jail for oral sex with wife's sister'), it was reported that a man was jailed for a year - three times longer than Koe - for oral sex.

Another jail sentence for oral sex was halved recently, from two years to one year.

In comparing the two crimes and the sentences meted out for them, I cannot help but feel that the judicial system is sending a message to the public that it is much less reprehensible to drink and drive and in the process endanger and even kill fellow road-users than to engage in a sexual practice which hurts only the morals of others but does no (or much less) actual harm.

In my opinion, the light sentence Sgt Koe received is a slap in the face of all cyclists, pedestrians and other road-users and undermines efforts to stamp out drink driving and to make the roads safer.


One can only hope that the prosecution will appeal against the sentence and that other motorists do not think that drink driving is a petty transgression which one get away with lightly, even if something happens.


MATHIAS KORBER



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I REFER to the article, 'Soldier knocked down cyclist after drinking binge' (ST, Feb 27).

The report stated that a motorist, who had twice the legal limit of alcohol, knocked down and killed a cyclist, demonstrating the addled responsiveness typical of the inebriated state. For this, he was jailed for four months.

It is appalling to think that so little value is placed on a human life. The message being sent out is that a cyclist, acting fully within his rights according to the Road Traffic Act, is expendable.

Under the Road Traffic Act, 'any person who drives in a manner which is dangerous to the public... shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $3,000 or to a term not exceeding 12 months or both'.

However, in other countries, drivers have been found guilty of using their cars as instruments of homicide, and charged accordingly.

'Reckless driving' doesn't take into account the damage inflicted; what this law suggests is that he would have faced the same amount of jail time had he knocked down a lamppost, or even if he had completely avoided hitting anybody.

But this is a human life we are talking about. It is about the responsibility that driving a heavy vehicle which could kill an innocent passer-by (or cyclist) with a spin of the steering wheel entails.

First Sergeant Koe Seng Wah's mitigation plea - that he 'had swerved right after he hit Mr Alvin Boey to avoid running over him' - only demonstrates a lack of remorse and a repugnant inability to grasp the true consequence of his actions.

The Government needs to act to make the roads safe for everybody - drivers, cyclists and pedestrians alike.


EDRIC SNG TEK JIN

(Extracted from www.togoparts.com forums)

Quote:
" Formerly posted by Kong:
i know some of you don't like sarcasm....
put on this t-shirt when you go riding

HIT ME
It'll Only Cost You
4 Months!"

Bertram awoke @ 10:35 PM with