Nearly double the legal limit, driving the wrong way at 114 kilometers per hour
In the early hours of a March morning in Singapore, a young man's reckless flight from police set in motion a chain of harm that touched five lives — among them an elderly bus driver and two schoolchildren beginning their day. Two years later, Tan Yao Cong, 29, stands before the courts charged with drink driving and dangerous driving, his blood alcohol nearly double the legal limit and his record already marked by a prior conviction. The case asks, as such cases always do, what it takes for a society to interrupt a pattern of endangerment before the cost becomes irreversible.
- A car travelling the wrong way at 114kmh, fleeing police and running a red light, collided head-on with a school bus carrying children — the impact so violent the car burst into flames against a lamp post.
- Five people were injured, including a 71-year-old bus driver and two boys aged nine and ten, in a collision that could easily have been fatal.
- The driver's blood alcohol was 148mg per 100ml — nearly double Singapore's legal limit — and he had already been convicted of drink driving in 2019, making this a repeat offence with sharply elevated consequences.
- Charged with five offences including dangerous driving causing hurt and driving against traffic, Tan made no plea in court; prosecutors have offered to proceed on three charges with two taken into consideration.
- The case is adjourned to July, with conviction as a repeat offender carrying up to four years' imprisonment, a S$20,000 fine, and a five-year driving ban still hanging in the balance.
Just after 6am on March 6, 2024, a black car was seen driving the wrong way down Cavenagh Road in Singapore. When police moved to intercept, the driver accelerated and fled. What followed was a dangerous run along Bukit Timah Road — weaving through traffic at 114 kilometres per hour, running a red light at Sixth Avenue — before the car struck a private school bus head-on as it completed a U-turn. The car then hit a lamp post and caught fire on a grass verge.
Five people were hurt: the 71-year-old bus driver, two schoolboys aged nine and ten, and two of the driver's own passengers. The driver was arrested at the scene. A breath test revealed he had 148 milligrams of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood — nearly double the legal limit of 80 milligrams.
On June 18, 2026, Tan Yao Cong, 29, was formally charged with five offences: drink driving, dangerous driving causing hurt, driving against traffic, failing to provide a breath specimen, and leaving his vehicle in a position endangering others. The charges are made more serious by his history — Tan was convicted in 2019 of drink driving and driving without due care, making him a repeat offender under Singapore law.
If convicted on the dangerous driving charge as a repeat offender, he faces up to four years in prison, a fine of up to S$20,000, and a five-year driving ban. Prosecutors indicated they would accept a guilty plea on three of the five charges. Tan made no statement on how he intended to plead. The case was adjourned to July, leaving accountability — and the full reckoning for that morning's harm — still to be determined.
On the morning of March 6, 2024, a black car was spotted driving the wrong way down Cavenagh Road in Singapore around 6 in the morning. When police tried to approach, the driver accelerated and fled. What followed was a chaotic sequence of dangerous maneuvers across Bukit Timah Road—weaving through traffic at 114 kilometers per hour, running a red light at the intersection of Sixth Avenue, and narrowly missing other vehicles before colliding head-on with a private school bus that was making a U-turn. The impact was violent enough to send the car careening into a lamp post, after which it burst into flames on a grass verge.
Five people were hurt in the collision. The bus driver, a 71-year-old man, sustained injuries. Two schoolboys on the bus—one nine years old, the other ten—were also taken to hospital. The driver of the car and his three passengers managed to escape the burning vehicle, but two of those passengers, along with a third, required medical treatment. The driver was arrested at the scene.
On Thursday, June 18, 2026, that driver, Tan Yao Cong, a 29-year-old Singaporean, was formally charged with five offences: drink driving, dangerous driving causing hurt, driving against traffic, failing to provide a breath specimen, and allowing his vehicle to remain in a position that endangered others. The charges paint a picture of recklessness compounded by impairment. A breath test showed Tan had 148 milligrams of alcohol per 100 milliliters of blood—nearly double the legal limit of 80 milligrams. He had driven the wrong way down a street marked with a "straight only" sign, accelerated through a red light, and operated his vehicle in a manner that endangered every person on the road that morning.
What makes this case particularly serious is Tan's history. He had been convicted in 2019 of drink driving and driving without due care and attention. That prior conviction elevates the potential penalties significantly. If convicted of dangerous driving causing hurt as a repeat offender, he could face up to four years in prison, a fine of up to 20,000 Singapore dollars, and a five-year driving ban. For the drink-driving charge alone, a repeat offender faces up to two years in jail, a fine between 5,000 and 20,000 Singapore dollars, and a five-year disqualification from driving.
During Thursday's court appearance, prosecutors indicated they would accept a guilty plea on three of the five charges, with the remaining two taken into consideration. Tan made no statement about how he intended to plead. The case was adjourned to July for a further mention, leaving the outcome uncertain. For now, the five people injured in that early morning collision are left to recover, and the question of accountability remains pending before the courts.
Notable Quotes
Driving at 114 kilometers per hour, weaving in and out of traffic, before running a red light at the intersection of Sixth Avenue— Court charges against Tan Yao Cong
The Hearth Conversation Another angle on the story
Why does it matter that this happened in the early morning, specifically around 6 a.m.?
Because that's when a school bus would be carrying children to school. The timing made the danger exponentially worse—these weren't random passengers, they were kids on their way to class.
The source says he was driving against traffic on Cavenagh Road first, before the collision. Why did police not stop him immediately?
They tried. But when they approached, he sped away. That's when the situation escalated from a traffic violation into a full pursuit scenario—he was now fleeing, weaving, running lights. The collision became almost inevitable.
What strikes you most about the fact that he had a prior conviction in 2019?
It's the clearest evidence that the system had already warned him. He'd already been caught, already faced consequences, and he was behind the wheel drunk again. That's not a mistake—that's a choice made twice.
The car caught fire. How close was that to being a fatality incident?
Very close. Everyone escaped, but a burning car on a road in the morning, with children nearby—one more second of delay, one person trapped, and this becomes a completely different story. The fire is the punctuation mark on how badly things could have gone.
Why would prosecutors offer to drop two charges if he pleads guilty to three?
It's practical. They secure a conviction on the most serious counts without the uncertainty of a trial. For the defendant, it's a calculation about whether to fight or accept responsibility. Either way, the outcome is likely prison time.