Some of us may not like to admit it, but Singaporean motorists aren’t the most gracious species.
In an ideal world, when you signal your intention to change lanes, motorists behind you would slow down and allow you to overtake them.
But in Singapore, when your turn signal starts blinking, it seems to be a signal for motorists all around you to step on their accelerators immediately.
Frustrated drivers might curse and flash certain fingers in response, but one man decided to do something a little different:
Man Pointed Laser Beam at Other Drivers While on The Road
On 2 Sept last year, Mr Lim Chee Yong was driving a car on the rightmost lane of the Kallang-Paya Lebar Expressway towards the Marina Coastal Expressway at around 5pm.
A driver directly behind him, who seemed to be frustrated with how slow he was supposedly driving, flashed his vehicle’s high beam and turned on the hazard lights hoping Mr Lim would change lanes.
Mr Lim couldn’t do so, however, as there were other vehicles in the lane to his left at the time and doing so would compromise his safety or the safety of other motorists.
The driver behind him should have put his frustration aside and recognised the difficulty of changing lanes in that situation, but he only grew more impatient.
So he took out a laser pointer and shone it at Mr Lim’s rear-view mirror.
A moment of madness, perhaps, but one that landed him behind bars.
Jailed For Two Weeks
The driver, identified as Patrick Ong Choon Hua, was sentenced to two weeks’ jail after pleading guilty to one count of performing a rash act.
A second charge for a similar offence was taken into consideration during sentencing.
According to the prosecutor, Ong had intended for the laser beam to reflect off Mr Lim’s rear-view mirror into his eyes, to force him to change lanes.
Mr Lim felt irritation in his eyes as a result and was momentarily unable to focus on the road ahead. But Ong continued to point the laser in this manner for 13 seconds.
Even after Ong switched to the middle lane soon, he continued to point the laser beam diagonally at Mr Lim’s vehicle for about nine seconds, even though he was no longer behind him.
He pointed the laser until Mr Lim’s car was out of sight. Fortunately for Mr Lim, his rear-facing in-car camera captured the incident and he made a police report.
For his offence, the 52-year-old Singaporean could have been jailed for up to six months and fined up to S$2,500.
So, if someone is driving too slowly or refuses to give way on the road, just curse under the breath like the rest of us, and get on with your day.
Featured Image: Cucu Andrei Adrian /shutterstock.com
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