A senior civil servant was yesterday fined $,2500 and banned from driving for 18 months after he admitted to drink driving.

Goh Chye Boon, 37, the deputy secretary of the Ministry of Trade and Industry, failed a breath test during a police spot check in the early hours of May 14.

He was driving along Bukit Timah Road towards Upper Bukit Timah Road when he was stopped by a police officer conducting a road block operation around 3 am that night.

After he failed the breath test, he was taken to the Traffic Police headquarters for a further test, which found Goh's alcohol level to be 1.6 times above the legal limit.

Goh, a high-flying official, co-chaired the organising committee for last year's International Monetary Fund-World Bank meetings. He previously headed the Feedback Unit and the National Youth Council. In 2004, he was named one of the 50 Young Singaporeans to watch by The Straits Times.

In migitation, his lawyer Luke Lee told the court that Goh was not given to drinking , and that on that night, he had one too many after joining friends to celebrate the successful conclusion of some tough negotiations.

District Judge Terence Chua noted that it was Goh's first offence and that no accident occured, and no injuries were caused to other parties.

But in sentencing Goh, he said: "The court must impress upon the accused and send a message to the public that drinking and driving is not acceptable and will continue to be sternly treated, while maintaining proportionality in the severity of sentences meted out."

The Judge did not find any aggravating factors that called for a stiffer penalty. Goh could have been fined up to $5,000 or jailed up to six months.