SINGAPORE: The founder of nightclub chain Zouk has been sentenced to jail for a week and banned from driving for three years after being charged with driving under the influence (DUI).

Lincoln Cheng, 70, ran two red lights before colliding with a taxi on Feb 15, The Straits Times reported today.

According to the daily, this is Cheng’s second DUI charge as he had pleaded guilty to one count of the same offence last month.

In the Feb 15 incident, Cheng was said to have run the red lights at Pearl’s Hill Terrace and Kreta Ayer Road before hitting the left side of an SMRT taxi.

He was arrested at the scene after failing a breathalyser test. Another test at the Traffic Police Department showed that he had 43 micrograms of alcohol in every 100ml of breath, above the 35 micrograms limit for driving, the report said.

Cheng’s lawyer, Kesavan Nair, told the district court that Cheng would appeal against the sentence. Cheng hopes to have his punishment reduced to either one day’s jail or a fine of S$5,000 (RM15,200).

Cheng was granted bail of S$15,000 (RM45,700) pending appeal, and has also been given permission to travel with his family to Germany, Italy, Brazil, Argentina, Antarctica, and the UK between Nov 24 and Dec 27.

Cheng paid almost S$21,000 (RM63,900) to SMRT for the repair of the damaged taxi.