HE'S an A-list MediaCorp heartthrob. A dashing, leading man whose girlfriend is Fann Wong.

In one of his roles, he played a simpleton who triumphs against all odds in the TV serial A New Life.

Yesterday, his life changed. He went from hero in reel-life to cowardly in court.

District Judge Terence Chua was in no mood to mince his words. He chided the actor for his irresponsible behaviour that left two men badly injured.

Lee, 35, was driving along Serangoon Road towards Upper Serangoon Road at 4.15am on 8 Oct 2006.

At the junction of Serangoon Road and Kitchener Road, he did not keep a proper lookout and hit a motorcycle which was in front of his car.

Mr Periakaruppan Dhandapani lost control of his bike. He and the pillion rider, Mr Jeyaraman Senthil Kumar, fell.

Lee drove off along Kitchener Road and stopped some distance away.

He got out of his car and looked at the two injured men on the road. Instead of helping them, he got into his car and drove off.

He was stopped by police at the junction of Kitchener Road and Jalan Besar. He smelt of alcohol.

Mr Periakaruppan was taken to Changi General Hospital, while Mr Jeyaraman was taken to Tan Tock Seng Hospital.

Mr Jeyaraman was more seriously injured and had his left third toe partially amputated.

He also suffered abrasions to his face and was on medical leave for a month.

Mr Periakaruppan suffered injuries to his face, arms and chest and was given medical leave for a week.

Lee pleaded guilty to four of the five charges he faced.

In sentencing him yesterday, Judge Chua noted Lee's mitigation plea, which said he had taken several precautions after drinking that day. He had taken taxis and waited a few hours before driving again.

But the judge said that in his time at the Traffic Court, he had seen too many drivers who thought they had done enough to drive again after drinking.

He said this was not an accurate method of gauging whether one was sober enough to drive as the rate of alcohol absorption varies from one person to another.

He also said that without scientific equipment, there was no way anyone could tell whether they were over or under the legal limit.

NO MAGIC NUMBER

He said: "There is no magic hour or magic number of drinks, and to claim that anyone can do this is self-deluding or naive at best and disingenuous or cynical at worst.

He cited the spate of hit-and-run and drink driving accidents recently, and found last year's accident figures alarming.

In 2006, there were 7,499 road accidents, killing 190 people.

The judge also had harsh words for Lee for fleeing the scene.

He said the Court must promote a sense of responsibility in Lee and people like him. And the sentence must "discourage like-minded offenders from fleeing the scene of an accident, especially when people are injured.

He added "such cowardly and irresponsible behaviour on the road must be discouraged"

Mr Chua disagreed with Lee's lawyer, Senior Counsel Lok Vi Ming, that a fine was sufficient punishment.

Mr Chua said he found this argument surprising as Lee saw the accident scene, knew he had collided into something and drove away.

Mr Lok had said Lee was in shock and was not thinking straight. But Mr Chua said Lee had the presence of mind to move the car a few hundred metres away.

He added: "The collision was an accident. Not stopping was a choice. Mr Chua did note Lee???s work for charity, the compensation he had made to the victims, and how he had sold his car at a loss as a sign of his remorse.

He said Lee's fame played no part in his consideration of the appropriate sentence.

He added: "The sad fact is that, as far as drink driving and hit-and-run cases go, this case is almost entirely average.?

Lee was sentenced to a month's jail and was disqualified from driving for three years.

He was also fined $4,500. He is appealing and is out on $20,000 bail. Lee has not been the only celebrity to get into trouble with drink driving recently.

On Wednesday, former TV game-show host Benedict Goh, 37, was charged in two courts with drink driving and lying to the Traffic Police. He is out on bail and will be back in court on 20 Jun.

In April last year, MediaCorp actor Terence Cao was stripped of his driving licence for two years and fined $4,100 by a district court after failing a breathalyser test when the Traffic Police stopped him on Kim Seng Road in August 2005.

In 1997, Li Nanxing was fined $4,000 and given a 30-month driving suspension after he was caught drink driving as he was driving home along Telok Blangah Road after a wedding.