Richard Tom, 47, returned to jail October 21 after his alcohol monitoring bracelet indicated that he had consumed alcohol. Tom was ordered to wear the SCRAM Continuous Alcohol Monitoring device after he was allegedly involved in a fatal drunk driving crash that killed an 8-year-old girl. The judge ordered Tom to abstain from alcohol and be monitored 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Consuming a measurable amount of alcohol is considered a violation of a court order and could result in additional penalties as well as jail time.
Tom is currently awaiting trial on the over 10 year old case. He was originally found guilty vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence causing great bodily injury in a car crash that killed 8-year-old Sydney Ng and left her mother and 10-year-old sister seriously injured. Tom was sentenced to seven years in prison and ordered to pay retribution to the Ng family. The decision was later overturned by the First District Court of Appeals, reinstated by the Supreme Court and overturned again in 2015. The current trial is the result of numerous appeals and is being heard out of the San Mateo County Superior Court. Tom was found liable in a civil case and ordered to pay over $7 million in compensatory damages to the Ng family.