SINGAPORE: A Singaporean man who was involved in a road rage incident last weekend was slapped with a fine of RM9,100 (S$2,750) by the Magistrate’s Court at Johor Bahru on Thursday (June 12).
Cheng Kuan Poh Colin, a 40-year-old human resources manager, pleaded guilty to two offences before Magistrate A. Shaarmini.
He was involved in an altercation at Jalan Sutera Tanjung 8/4, Taman Sutera Utama, with a Malaysian man, 32-year-old Ng Yeow Meng, on Saturday afternoon (June 7). Mr Ng’s girlfriend, who was with him at the time of the incident, posted videos of the confrontation on social media, which were widely shared.
Mr Ng immediately filed a complaint against the Singaporean, and Cheng was arrested early on Saturday evening. He was accused of committing mischief by damaging Mr Ng’s vehicle. He faced another charge of insulting the modesty of Mr Ng, since he spat into his face during the incident.
The charges were read to Cheng in Mandarin, and he indicated that he understood them.
However, Norfarahin Mohd Yazid, Cheng’s lawyer, asked that his fine be reduced, given that he is responsible for the care of his parents, who are already bedridden. She told the court that his monthly salary is RM6,595 (S$2,000), and added that this is his first offence.
For the first charge, Cheng was ordered by the court to pay RM4,300 (S$1,300) in lieu of six months’ jail time. For the second charge, he was fined (S$1450), also in default of six months’ jail.
On June 8, Johor Baru (North) district police chief Assistant Commissioner Balveer Singh announced that a complaint had been filed against Cheng and that he had been arrested the night before.
He had been driving a Toyota Altis, registered in Singapore, when he got involved in an altercation with Mr Ng, whose girlfriend, Vicky Sing, uploaded photos and videos of the incident to her Facebook account.
One video showed the Singaporean man kicking the Malaysian man’s vehicle, and in another video, Ms Sing showed the damage the car sustained. She wrote in the caption to her post that she and her boyfriend had been on their way to have lunch when the Singaporean man honked his horn at them several times, claiming that the couple’s vehicle had blocked his way. Ms Sing alleged that the man kept bumping into and spitting on her boyfriend, who did not fight back.
“The complainant stated that while driving his BMW at 2:39 p.m. in the Tun Aminah area, he was honked at by a Toyota Altis with a Singapore registration number, whose driver was dissatisfied because his path was blocked. An argument ensued, and the suspect allegedly kicked the complainant’s car, causing damage. However, the complainant did not suffer any injuries,” said Assistant Commissioner Singh. /TISG
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