SINGAPORE - A driver, rushing to administer a daily insulin injection for his father, knocked over a motorbike, in an incident that happened at a Hougang HDB carpark.
Mr Ahmad Iskandar, 31, was in a hurry last Sunday (July 30) night, as he was running late for the insulin shot, usually given by him to his father at 10pm.
He promptly left a note containing his contact details, also picking up the fragments of glass from the bike's right mirror that he broke. He noticed that the screws of the steering handle bar had also become loose.
"I wanted a quiet settlement, one that is befitting of a gentleman," the civil servant told The Straits Times.
The incident occurred at the HDB carpark of Block 658, in Hougang Avenue 8.
"I was very anxious because I didn't know if it would become a big thing," said Mr Iskandar. "I waited and waited (for his call)."
While the call he was waiting for never came, he instead received one from a Shinmin Daily reporter on Tuesday (Aug 1), who told him that the other party had decided not to pursue the matter.
And he was in for another surprise. The motorcycle which he knocked over belonged to well-known "Hougang Ironman" Jackson Tan Sim Siong. He was named so for his charity marathons, despite having metal plates and more than 20 screws in his arms and left leg, the results of two traffic accidents.
Mr Tan, 57, said : "I was very touched by Mr Iskandar's gesture of leaving behind his contact details, and I have decided not to seek compensation for the damages caused."
He took his bike to a workshop on Wednesday (Aug 2), and paid about $80 for the repair.
"My motorcycle had been involved in five such incidents before, but this is the only time someone has bothered to leave his contact details behind."
"I don't want to accept his compensation because, for me, he has already done his part by being responsible," Mr Tan said. "I just hope he will be more careful in the future."
When asked how he felt about the settlement, Mr Iskandar said he was touched by Mr Tan's decision.
"I don't know whether to be happy or sad, but I'm definitely grateful to him for his generosity," Mr Iskandar said.
