COFFEE shop assistant Teo Khian Meng never knew what hit him.

A car had slammed into him with such force that he was flung onto another car in the opposite direction, shattering its windscreen. Mr Teo, 56, died three hours later in hospital.

The date was Oct 19 last year.

That night, general manager Rick Lee Chuan Huat was driving home from a birthday party - with more than three times the legal alcohol limit.

His car hit Mr Teo along Bukit Purmei Avenue, but he drove on.

Yesterday, Lee, 49, pleaded guilty to causing Mr Teo's death by a rash act and to drink driving. He was jailed for seven months and fined $3,500 and also disqualified from driving for eight years.

Before Lee was sentenced, his lawyer gave an explanation to the court as to why his client could not recall the events of that night.

Producing a letter from psychiatrist Lim Yun Chin, lawyer Anand Nalachandran said Lee had 'alcoholic amnesia'.

Dr Lim had written that the sequence of events after Lee left the party, losing his way home and having no recall of the accident despite driving the vehicle, suggested such a condition.

He added that in this condition, the drinker appears lucid and can even execute complex cognitive and psycho-motor skills such as driving a car or aeroplane.

But he may subsequently not be able to recall how he got to his destination or what happened along the way.

Mr Anand said that his bringing up alcoholic amnesia was not an excuse but to explain why Lee took a long time to admit his guilt.

"Because of alcoholic amnesia, we had to gather details about what happened from witnesses and accident reconstruction experts," Mr Anand said.

Lee did not remember anything after he left the party at Tanglin Regency at about 10.30pm to 10.45pm, he added.

Instead of driving home from Alexandra Road to his home in Crawford Lane, off North Bridge Road, Lee got lost in the Bukit Purmei area.

When his wife phoned him later, he told her his car had stalled along Keppel Road.

He had in fact run over the kerb near Brani Gate 2 at 12.30am the next day.

When police arrived, Lee was devastated to learn that he had knocked down and killed a pedestrian. But he could not recall the accident or if he had stopped.

Police found Lee reeking of liquor. His speech was slurred and he walked unsteadily. A breathalyser test at 2.30am showed that he had 107 micrograms of alcohol per 100ml of breath - more than three times the legal limit of 35 micrograms.

Three other charges of failing to stop, not rendering assistance to a seriously injured person, and removing his car from the accident scene were considered by District Judge Sarjit Singh in deciding on the sentence.

Mr Anand told the court that Lee faced civil proceedings by the Teo family.

The lawyer added: "While he accepts that a prison sentence is appropriate, he prays that it would not have dire ramifications on his wife and 11-year-old son, who is autistic."