Singaporean driver in Johor road rage incident fined $2,760 after pleading guilty

JOHOR BAHRU – A Singaporean motorist who

kicked another car in a road rage incident in Joho

r has been fined a total of RM9,100 (S$2,760) by a magistrate’s court in Johor Bahru on June 12.

Cheng Kuan Poh, 40, pleaded guilty to a charge of mischief and causing damage to property and another charge of using words or gestures intended to insult another’s modesty.

He was fined RM4,300 and RM4,800 for the two charges, respectively. For each charge, offenders may be fined or imprisoned for up to a period of five years, or both.

According to court documents, Cheng was accused of causing damages to a Malaysian-registered BMW car at Jalan Sutera Tanjung in Skudai town at 2.39pm on June 7.

Cheng, a human resources manager, was also accused of insulting the driver of the BMW, Mr Ng Yeow Meng, 32. Cheng had allegedly spat in his face.

Video clips of the incident went viral on social media, with the Johor police arresting Cheng on June 8, a day after he was involved in the altercation with Mr Ng.

The Johor Bahru North police said a report on the incident was lodged on June 7. In the report, the BMW driver claimed that Cheng honked the horn several times at him while they were driving in the Tun Aminah area in Skudai, a 30-minute drive from state capital Johor Bahru. Cheng was driving a Singapore-registered Toyota Altis.

Represented by his lawyer, Ms Norfarahin Mohd Yazid, Cheng pleaded for leniency on account of his first-time offence and his lack of prior offences.

Ms Norfarahin also told the court that Cheng is single, takes care of his elderly parents, and earns a monthly wage of $2,000 a month.

Cheng was seen wearing a grey T-shirt as he arrived at the magistrate’s court. His charges were eventually read to him in Mandarin, instead of Malay.