Indian international student to be jailed and deported over drink-driving crash in Adelaide

Arshdeep Singh, an off-duty taxi driver, was drunk and speeding when his car crashed into a brick wall in Adelaide last September. The 21-one-year-old will be deported to India after serving a five-year prison sentence.

International student and an-off duty cab driver Arshdeep Singh pleaded guilty to a drink-driving crash that injured five. Credit: ABC

Key Points

• Arshdeep Singh pleaded guilty to four counts of causing serious harm by dangerous driving and one count of causing harm by dangerous driving
• The off-duty taxi driver had five passengers aged 14-26 in his car when he slammed into a wall in September last year
• Sentenced to five years of jail, he will later be deported to India

The Indian international student was aged 20 when his car carrying five passengers aged 14-26 slammed into a wall in Old Noarlunga, in Adelaide's south, in September last year.

Mr Singh pleaded guilty in court on 13 September to four counts of causing serious harm by dangerous driving and one count of causing harm by dangerous driving.

The sentencing judge Paul Muscat said, "Each count is an aggravated offence because you were driving whilst there was present in your blood a concentration of 0.08 g or more of alcohol and, further, that you were travelling in excess of 45 km/h over the applicable speed limit."

South Australia's District Court heard that Mr Singh was not working in his capacity as a taxi driver on the night of the crash and that all passengers, including the driver, had been drinking and socialising with other friends at the same address.

A taxi becomes a private vehicle when it's used outside of duty.

"Your dangerous driving is objectively very serious. You knew there were too many passengers in the vehicle, and you should never have permitted that to occur.

"Not only was that illegal, but, as a taxi driver, you would have known that," said Mr Muscat.

'I know how to drive'

The court heard that the passengers told him to slow down, but he responded by saying, “'It's alright. I know how to drive.’"

"It is incredible that none of the passengers were not injured more seriously than they were, or worse, killed,” the judge said.

A representative image of long exposure inside the car, resulting in a simulated effect of drunk driving from the first-person's perspective. Source: Moment RF / Copyright Artem Vorobiev/Getty Images

An only child born in India, Mr Singh arrived in Australia in March 2019 as an international student. He worked as a taxi driver to help fund his studies.

Judge Muscat said Mr Singh's father has suffered from physical and mental health issues for many years.

"Your absence from your parents in this time of need has not only impacted them but also caused you distress," said the judge.

According to Mr Muscat, Mr Singh's early guilty plea and demonstration of high remorse had reduced the sentence by the maximum discount applicable.

Your dream of a life living and working in Australia is now over. You feel ashamed that all of your parents' hard work to see you better your life will come to nothing

Judge Paul Muscat

Mr Singh has been sentenced to five years in prison with a two-and-a-half-year non-parole period and banned from driving for 14 years. After imprisonment, he will be deported to India.

In his report regarding the case, Professor White, a forensic pharmacologist, reported that surveys have clearly established that the risk of a collision is increased 82-fold for drivers with a blood alcohol concentration in the range Mr Singh had that night.

The judge said, "General deterrence, that is, deterring other drivers, including young drivers, from engaging in dangerous acts of driving, especially while intoxicated, is also a very important sentencing consideration in these types of cases."