The Law on Drink Driving

There are serious consequences to drink driving in Singapore, including the potential for loss of life. For the driver who is accused and found guilty of it, it can ruin their life. In prosecuting offences such as these, the authorities will show neither fear nor favour. Someone who is found to be driving whilst over the legal limit, without a defence under the law or exceptional circumstances, will face punishment. This is the case for both first time and repeat offenders.

For instance, it was reported in the Straits Times that actor Aloysius Pang Wei Chong was found guilty of drink driving, fined $2,000 and banned from driving for 18 months. In a similar case, a prominent lawyer was prosecuted for drink driving; despite his guilty plea, and some significant mitigating factors, he was ultimately convicted, fined and banned from driving for 26 months.

Please note that these two aforementioned cases were dealt with under the pre-2019 legal framework, and they do not reflect current sentencing. Therefore, it is vital, should you ever be investigated and/or charged with drink driving, that you are aware of your rights.

“Parliament passed amendments to the Road Traffic Act in July [2019], one of which was to increase the penalties to deter irresponsible and dangerous driving: We have doubled the penalties for driving under the influence of alcohol, where a first-time offender can now face up to a year in jail and/or a fine between $2,000 to $10,000 and be disqualified from driving for at least two years.

Drink-driving can lead to serious consequences. It sharply increases the likelihood of accidents and endangers the lives of other road users. These amendments and campaign efforts are part of our holistic approach to combat drink-driving.”

Sun Xueling, Senior Parliamentary Secretary for the Ministry of Home Affairs.

What changed in 2025 and 2026

A lower alcohol limit has been passed by Parliament but is not yet in force. On 4 August 2026, Parliament passed the Road Traffic (Miscellaneous Amendments) Bill, which was first read on 7 July 2026. Once it comes into force, it will:

• Cut the prescribed limit from 35 to 15 micrograms of alcohol per 100ml of breath, and from 80 to 30 milligrams of alcohol per 100ml of blood. The current limits have applied since 1985. The Ministry of Home Affairs has said that, as a rough illustration only, the new limit is about 1.5 standard drinks for men and no more than one for women, consumed three hours before driving, and that there is no safe amount to drink before driving
• Create a new offence of driving with a controlled drug, intoxicating substance or psychoactive substance in your blood, without any need to prove impairment. There is a defence for medication lawfully taken where you did not know, and had no reason to believe, that it could impair your driving
• Remove the requirement for a roadside preliminary breath test, so that the Traffic Police can take an evidential reading on the spot with a handheld breath analyser instead of at the police lock-up
• Make a driving disqualification run only from your release from prison, even where the prison sentence is for a different offence
• Increase the extra imprisonment that can be added where careless or dangerous driving causing grievous hurt is committed by a drink driver

The Ministry of Home Affairs has also said it will work with the Sentencing Advisory Panel on guidelines that may recommend imprisonment for first-time offenders with very high alcohol levels.

At the time of writing (30 October 2026), we have not seen a commencement date for these changes. Until they come into force, the limits of 35µg per 100ml of breath and 80mg per 100ml of blood continue to apply. Do not read this as permission to drink up to the current limit.

The Court of Appeal has clarified when a disqualification starts. In Ng Soon Kiat v Public Prosecutor [2026] SGCA 3 (28 January 2026), the Court of Appeal held that a disqualification under section 67(2) of the Road Traffic Act runs from the date of conviction, unless the offender is sentenced to imprisonment for the drink-driving offence itself, in which case it runs from release. The 2026 amendments described above will change this once in force.

The law on drink driving

It is a criminal offence, under section 67(1) of the Road Traffic Act (RTA), to drive whilst under the influence of drugs or alcohol. You can be found guilty of such an offence if you are driving on a road or other public place whilst:

• You are so intoxicated that you are incapable of properly controlling a vehicle and are therefore unfit to drive; or
• Your blood alcohol or breath alcohol levels exceed the legal limit.

Note that for the first of these two scenarios, you do not have to be above the legal alcohol limit. It is only necessary to show that you are (a) intoxicated and (b) not able to control the motor vehicle that you are in charge of.

In addition, it is not only alcohol intoxication that is prohibited. You can also be found guilty of this offence if you are under the influence of drugs or other intoxicating substances (such as by taking medication or as a result of glue-sniffing).

Do I have to give a blood or breath sample if the police ask for it?

Yes. Under the law, you are required to take a breathalyser test or provide a blood sample if the police have reasonable grounds to suspect that you are under the influence of alcohol.

If you fail, without a reasonable excuse, to provide a specimen of breath or blood for analysis when a police officer requires it, you have committed an offence under section 70(4) of the RTA. This is punishable in the same way as if you had actually been driving under the influence of alcohol, with the same penalties, as stated below. Refusing the preliminary roadside breath test is also an offence in its own right.

What is the punishment for drink driving?

As mentioned above, Parliament changed the law to give stricter penalties for drink drivers, taking effect from November 1st 2019. These penalties are still the ones in force, as confirmed by the Singapore Police Force’s published table of penalties.

In the case of a first-time offender, the penalty shall either be a fine of at least $2,000, going up to $10,000, or imprisonment for a term no longer than 12 months, or both the fine and the term of imprisonment. In addition, unless you have “special reasons” not to be disqualified from driving, you will also be banned from driving for a minimum of 2 years.

For a second-time offender or a repeat offender, jail is mandatory. The penalty is both a jail term of up to two years and a fine of at least $5,000, up to a maximum of $20,000. The minimum period of driving disqualification also rises, from 2 years to 5 years. On a third conviction, the offender faces disqualification for life.

People often ask, “If I am sent to prison, when does my disqualification from driving actually begin?” Under the current law, if you are sentenced to imprisonment for the drink-driving offence, the disqualification begins on the day you are released from custody. If you are not imprisoned for the drink-driving offence, it runs from the date of conviction, even if you are serving a prison sentence for something else (Ng Soon Kiat v Public Prosecutor [2026] SGCA 3). Once the 2026 amendments are in force, disqualification will run from release in both situations.

If I have previous traffic offence convictions, how is my sentence affected?

This depends on the circumstances. A judge may take into account minor traffic violations, even compounded ones such as speeding, as an aggravating factor under the new section 139AA of the RTA. However, the offender will still be sentenced according to the range of sentences set out in the guidelines above.

But if an offender has been previously convicted of a more serious traffic offence, a judge may sentence the offender to up to three times the usual penalties, according to section 67A of the RTA.

Note also that if serious injury or death is caused, the penalties will be higher and may include the penalty of caning, up to six strokes, though this is rare. A drink driver who also drives dangerously or carelessly is treated as a “serious offender” for that driving offence, with extra imprisonment and longer disqualification on top of the usual penalties. Our article on dangerous or reckless driving sets these out.

If in doubt, always consult a criminal lawyer with experience in this area.

What will the Court consider when sentencing me?

In general, the first thing the Court will do is to look at the offender’s blood alcohol level at the time of the offence, especially if they are a first-time offender and there are no aggravating factors (for example, you had not driven erratically; you were stopped at a roadblock; there was no speeding; no injuries, etc).

To begin with, the legal limit for alcohol in your body whilst driving is currently 80 milligrams of alcohol per 100 ml of blood, or 35 micrograms of alcohol per 100 ml of breath. You may not be guilty of an offence if your breath/blood alcohol levels do not exceed this limit, unless you were so impaired that you could not properly control the vehicle. As explained above, these limits will fall to 30mg and 15µg once the 2026 amendments come into force.

In a landmark case known as Edwin s/o Suse Nathen v Public Prosecutor [2013] 4 SLR 1139, the High Court set out sentencing bands for first time offenders. After the 2019 increase in penalties, the High Court revised that framework in Rafael Voltaire Alzate v Public Prosecutor [2021] SGHC 224, and later set out a separate framework for repeat offenders in Lee Shin Nan v Public Prosecutor [2023] SGHC 354.

The Attorney-General’s Chambers publishes the sentencing positions the Prosecution will take for first offenders under section 67(1)(b) who plead guilty, where there was no accident. For those who plead guilty after the mention stage, they are:

Those who plead guilty at the mentions stage are given a fixed position at or near the lower end of each band. For blood readings, the AGC converts the figure by multiplying the blood alcohol level by 0.4375. These are the Prosecution’s positions, not the sentence: it is the Court that decides, and the positions can change if new facts emerge. The general principle still stands: the higher your breath/blood alcohol level, the higher the penalty.

Note also that for drink driving cases where there was injury or harm, other considerations will apply. As laid out in Stansilas Fabian Kester v Public Prosecutor [2017] 5 SLR 755, the Court will consider:

• The conduct of the offender; were they driving with a lack of control, recklessly, or dangerously?
• The degree of harm caused, and the offender’s culpability;
• Sentencing considerations, such as the need to deter the general public from drink driving and/or the need for the rehabilitation of the offender;
• Other relevant aggravating or mitigating factors.

I wasn’t driving, I was just parked whilst drunk. Why have I been arrested?

You might still be guilty of an offence if you are in charge of a motor vehicle whilst under the influence of alcohol, even if you were not the driver and were not driving it.

Section 68 of the RTA states that any person who is in charge of a vehicle, though they are not driving it on a road or public place, is guilty of an offence if:

• The person is not fit to drive because they are so intoxicated as to be unable to properly control the vehicle or their blood/breath alcohol exceeds the legal limit

Note, however, that a person is not considered to be in charge of a vehicle if:

• The person had not driven the vehicle from the time they became unfit to drive up to the time of their arrest;
• There was no likelihood they would drive the vehicle at the time of their arrest.

Common questions

What is the drink driving limit in Singapore? Currently 35 micrograms of alcohol per 100ml of breath, or 80 milligrams per 100ml of blood. Parliament has passed a law lowering these to 15 micrograms and 30 milligrams, which will apply once it comes into force.

Will I go to jail for drink driving as a first-time offender? Not necessarily. A first offender with no accident and a lower reading will usually receive a fine and a disqualification of at least two years. Imprisonment becomes more likely with a very high reading, an accident, injury or bad driving, and it is mandatory for a repeat offender.

How long will I be banned from driving? At least two years for a first offence, at least five years for a second, and life for a third, unless the court finds special reasons. Within those minimums, the length depends mostly on your alcohol reading.

Can I refuse a breathalyser test? You can, but refusing without a reasonable excuse is itself an offence, and refusing a specimen for analysis is punished as if you had been drink driving. Refusal rarely leaves you better off.

Can my past traffic record make a drink-driving sentence worse? Yes. Drink driving is always dealt with in court, and the court can take past traffic offences into account, including ones you settled by paying a composition fine. If you were also speeding, see our article on speeding penalties in Singapore.

Consult a lawyer, even if you have admitted to a crime

You should always think about hiring a lawyer if you have admitted to a crime. The charge, the statement of facts and the mitigation all affect the fine and the length of your disqualification, which is often the part of the sentence that matters most. Our note on why you should still hire a lawyer if you are pleading guilty explains why.