A young Briton was sentenced to six weeks’ imprisonment on Tuesday for walking onto the track during the Singapore Grand Prix in September, reportedly so he could film the cars on his mobile phone.
Yogvitam Pravin Dhokia, 27, was sentenced by a district court judge after pleading guilty, defence lawyer Jeremy Mark Pereira told AFP.
Pereira said the sentence was backdated to October 16, when Dhokia — who was free on bail at the time — voluntarily returned to custody in the hope of cutting any jail term that would be imposed.
Time spent in remand is taken off prison terms in Singapore. Legal experts said Dhokia would also save on accommodation costs in one of the world’s most expensive cities.
Dhokia had been charged with committing a “rash act” that endangered other people, an offence punishable with imprisonment of up to six months or a maximum fine of Sg$2,500 ($1,791), or both.
Local media said prosecutors had asked for a jail term of eight to 12 weeks, telling the court an accident caused by Dhokia’s action would have been “catastrophic”.
Broadcaster Channel NewsAsia quoted defence lawyer Shashi Nathan as saying Dhokia was remorseful.
The Briton was arrested shortly after he walked onto the floodlit street circuit while the Formula One night race was in full swing on September 20 in Singapore’s upmarket Marina Bay district.
A prosecutor told the court that one hour into the race, Dhokia breached the perimeter fence to take a video on his mobile phone of the cars as they sped by, the Straits Times reported.
The charge sheet said Dhokia endangered the personal safety of the drivers when he crossed the track.
Closed-circuit television footage released after the race showed Dhokia wriggling his way through a gap in the circuit’s metal fencing. Clad in a T-shirt and shorts, he crossed the track — at first ambling slowly and then accelerating as race cars approached.
Sebastian Vettel, who eventually won the Singapore event, had a major shock on lap 36 when he raised the alarm at the intrusion and brought the race to a temporary halt.
“There’s a man on the track!” Vettel yelled over the team radio as the safety car came out.