Police arrested five drink drivers in a six hour islandwide operation last night.

The operation commenced on 31 Dec 2009 at about 10.00 pm. Subsequently on 1 January 2010, at about 1.00 am, simultaneous road blocks were set up along Upper Thomson Road, Kallang Road, Jurong West Ave 2 and Sengkang East Drive to target party revellers heading home towards the different directions.

The breathalyser test was administered to 56 motorists. Five failed the test and were arrested for drink-driving. All five were men aged between 28 and 50 years old. The highest breathalyser result, clocked by a 49-year-old man, was 77 microgrammes of alcohol per 100 millilitres of breath and this exceeds the prescribed legal limit of 35 microgrammes of alcohol per 100 millilitres of breath.

A total of 44 persons were also summoned for other traffic-related offences such as speeding, beating red light and failing to wear seat belt, among others.

Police would like to remind the public that drink driving is a very serious offence and the penalties are severe. Even if the driver's alcohol content in his blood or breath does not go beyond the legal limit, he can still be charged for drink driving if he is unable to control his vehicle properly. Drink drivers, on conviction, will be disqualified from driving for at least 12 months, which would, in effect, invalidate their driving licences. In addition, first-time offenders can be fined between $1,000 and $5,000, or jailed up to 6 months, while repeat offenders may be punished with a maximum fine of $30,000 and a mandatory jail term of up to 3 years. They may also be caned up to six strokes should death or serious injury be caused.

Traffic Police will continue with such enforcement to ensure that our roads are safe from such irresponsible behaviour.