Katong road rage case: Woman who drove off with cyclist on bonnet gets short detention order, will appeal

SINGAPORE: A woman who drove off with a cyclist clinging onto the bonnet of her car in a road rage incident last year was sentenced to a short detention order (SDO) of three days on Monday (Dec 2).

Elaine Michele Ow, 50, was also disqualified from driving for a year after her release. She intends to appeal against the sentence, her lawyer told the court.

Ow, a private chef and cooking instructor, had admitted in February to one count of a rash act endangering the safety of cyclist Nicolette Tan Shi'en.

The prosecutor sought an SDO and driving ban for Ow, while the defence asked for a high fine.

An SDO is a community-based sentence that detains an offender in prison for not more than 14 days. It is supposed to act as a deterrent by allowing an offender to experience prison life but does not leave a criminal record.

Sentencing did not proceed at a subsequent hearing in March as the prosecution had to clarify allegations made by Ow about past traffic violations.

Ow had disputed her conviction history, telling the court that some of her parking offences were not committed by her but by her husband or sister instead.

PROSECUTION UPDATES COURT

On Monday, Deputy Public Prosecutor Sunil Nair told the court that records could not conclusively show whether Ow was the driver on the four disputed occasions in 2009 and 2010.

Ow also could not recall whether she was the driver then.

Given this, he said the prosecution was prepared not to rely on the four prior convictions for its position on the sentence she should receive.

Mr Nair then updated the court that the prosecution was proposing a slight amendment to the statement of facts that Ow pleaded guilty to back in February.

This was after enquiries made in the course of Tan's own case established that she had opened the driver's door of Ow's car, and not just attempted to, he said.

Cyclist Tan, a 33-year-old lawyer, was sentenced to an SDO of five days after pleading guilty to a charge of intentionally harassing Ow, with a charge of obstructing the road considered for sentencing.

Defence counsel Ragbir Singh Bajwa told the court that Ow took issue with one of the timings stated in the amended paragraph, although his view was that this was "inconsequential".

"Let's not miss the woods for the trees," District Judge Janet Wang said as she pointed out that the substance of the paragraph was more critical than the timing. The defence agreed.

The prosecution's amendment that Tan opened the driver's door of Ow's car "slightly" was then made to the statement of facts.

THE ROAD RAGE INCIDENT

The dispute between Tan and Ow on Jun 2 last year went viral after footage of the confrontation emerged online.

Ow was driving her car along Still Road South on the way to i12 Katong mall to teach a class.

Tan was cycling along the same road and felt that Ow's car was too close to her when they entered a slip road.

Tan then followed Ow's car and caught up with her at a traffic junction where she confronted Ow.

Ow tried several times to veer around Tan, who positioned herself in a way that prevented Ow from leaving safely.

Ow apologised but the situation re-escalated when her vehicle came into contact with Tan's bicycle and Tan opened Ow's car door slightly.

After this, Ow picked up Tan's bicycle and carried it to the side of the road, saying she had a class to get to.

When Ow tried to inch forward and nudged Tan's legs, Tan jumped onto the bonnet of Ow's car.

Ow muttered "okay" to herself and accelerated, driving off with Tan clinging on to her bonnet and banging on the windscreen.

Tan slipped off at the entrance of the mall's car park about 100m away and held on to one of the car's windscreen wipers until passers-by coaxed her into letting go of it.

CYCLIST WAS AGGRESSOR BUT DRIVER'S REACTION EXCESSIVE, JUDGE SAYS

Giving her grounds for the sentence imposed, Judge Wang agreed with the defence that of the two women, Tan was more culpable as she was the aggressor from the start.

"Tan's display of aggression did not abate, notwithstanding the constant apologies and imploration of (Ow) who tried to disengage with Tan," said the judge.

But Ow's reaction was excessive, said the judge, observing that "any reasonable person would have enlisted the assistance of the police and await their arrival".

She added that it was "hardly a Herculean task" for Ow to get to her cooking class in another way or inform her students she would be late.

The judge said Ow's utterance of the word "okay" shortly before accelerating supported the view that she was motivated by vindictiveness, rather than panic and anxiety.

"(Ow) was far from the babe in the woods the defence has attempted to portray. (She) had crossed the Rubicon when she embarked on a deliberate course of rash driving with Tan clinging onto the bonnet," said Judge Wang.

The judge noted that Tan sought medical attention immediately after the incident and had injuries involving muscle strains at her neck, shoulder and hip.

She also noted the opinion of Tan's consultant neurosurgeon that she likely suffered a post-concussion syndrome from a brain injury with associated mild whiplash.

Tan also suffered psychologically, developing acute stress disorder as a result of the incident, and subsequently being diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder.

The risk of harm was high, the judge said, as Tan could have fallen off the car bonnet and been "crushed by its wheels" or other vehicles in the next lane.

It was fortuitous that this did not actually happen, she said.

The judge also said that public safety was also of paramount importance in Ow's case, as she offended on a public road on a weekday afternoon when there was considerable traffic.

Ow's rash act also caused public disquiet from concerned members of the public who saw it happening, and a deterrent sentence was warranted, said the judge.

In mitigation, Ow's lawyer had cited her charity work involving baking and pro-bono cooking classes for cancer patients and underprivileged children in a refugee camp.

Mr Bajwa had stressed the need for Ow to retain her driving licence for her work as a private chef, as she is required to deliver orders to her clients.

He had also said that any incarceration would be traumatic and embarrassing for Ow.

But Judge Wang said these were not exceptional circumstances that warranted leniency.

"The glare of public scrutiny and embarrassment are inevitable consequences that are brought to bear on her actions," she said.

After the sentence was given, Mr Bajwa told the court that Ow will launch an appeal and applied for bail to remain at S$10,000 (US$7,400). However, the judge raised the bail amount to S$15,000.

An offender who commits a rash act that endangers the safety of others can be punished with a jail term of up to six months, a fine of up to S$2,500 or both.