Cyclist who fought with bus driver in road rage incident serves sentence but appeals
After the bus driver sounded his horn at the cyclist for drifting into his lane, the cyclist alighted, parked his bike in front of the bus and exchanged heated words through the window.
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SINGAPORE: A cyclist who got into a fight with a bus driver after a near-collision has served a seven-day short detention order but is appealing against his conviction and sentence.
Chia Meng Chiang, 49, had claimed trial to a charge of affray. He was convicted and sentenced to a short detention order - a community sentence that does not result in a criminal record but is intended to deter reoffending by exposing offenders to prison life.
Although Chia completed his sentence, he filed an appeal after his release, according to a written judgment made available on Saturday (Jul 11).
THE CASE
The incident, which took place on the evening of Nov 25, 2024, was captured on the bus’ in-vehicle camera system, which recorded multiple interior and exterior angles.
Co-accused Khong Heng Chuen, 55, was driving public bus service 85 along Punggol East when he stopped at a red light. Chia was cycling along the same road.
When the lights turned green, Khong moved off in lane 3, behind Chia, who was initially on the left side of the lane but began drifting to the centre.
Khong sounded his horn for about 10 seconds and applied the emergency brake to avoid hitting the bicycle.
Chia then stopped, parked his bicycle in front of the bus and walked to the driver's window, where the pair began arguing and exchanging insults.
Khong asked Chia to go to the front door and began filming him, pointing his phone towards his passengers and explaining the situation to them.
Chia boarded the bus and snatched Khong's phone. In response, Khong wrapped his elbow around Chia's neck and demanded the phone back before pulling him off the bus and onto the road.
A scuffle ensued, with Chia attempting to kick Khong while being dragged along the ground. After regaining his footing, Chia charged at Khong but was thrown towards the kerb.
Despite a passenger shouting at them to stop, the altercation continued. Khong eventually pinned Chia to the ground and asked bystanders to call the police. Passers-by eventually separated the pair.
Khong suffered a sprain in his thumb, while Chia sustained injuries such as a fractured rib and a bruised toe.
Khong pleaded guilty in March to a charge of voluntarily causing hurt and was also given a seven-day short detention order.
CHIA'S DEFENCE
Chia, however, claimed trial to his charge of affray, representing himself. He argued that he was acting in self-defence, maintaining that Khong had started the fight.
The prosecution refuted this, pointing out that Chia had escalated matters at various points such as stopping his bike in front of the bus and snatching the phone away in the first act of physical force.
District Judge Cheng Yuxi noted that from Khong's perspective, Chia had darted across three lanes of the road before drifting in front of his bus at the centre of lane 3, travelling at a slow speed.
Khong was shocked and felt that Chia's act endangered Khong and his bus passengers, one of whom was thrown from one seat to another, said Judge Cheng.
Chia felt that Khong was tailgating him and did not keep a sufficiently safe distance from him. Despite his best efforts to cycle as fast as he could, he could not put additional distance between the bus and his bicycle, noted the judge.
She added that Chia adjusted his position to avoid being trapped between the bus and the kerb, and was upset as he saw this as dangerous driving.
Judge Cheng said this was a typical road rage scenario but that Khong had started the fight when he grabbed Chia around the neck and pulled him off the bus.
While she accepted that Chia's kicks were to free himself from Khong's grip, she did not accept that his following actions were from self-defence.
Chia had unrelated prior traffic-related convictions, but the prosecution did not rely on these.
The prosecution sought a seven-day jail term, arguing that Chia had initiated and escalated the confrontation with his actions and remarks.
In mitigation, Chia said he understood the seriousness of the matter and took responsibility for his actions. He said the acts were not reflective of his normal behaviour, because he was in a high-pressure situation.
Chia began his sentence the same day it was imposed but filed an appeal against conviction and sentence a few days after being released.
The appeal will be heard at a later date.
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