Driver involved in road rage incident on East Coast Rd in 2023 given 3-day short detention order

SINGAPORE – A driver who was embroiled in an altercation with a cyclist in East Coast Road and then drove off with the latter clinging to the bonnet of her car was sentenced to a three-day short detention order on Dec 2.

Elaine Michele Ow, 50, a private chef and cooking instructor, had earlier pleaded guilty to one charge of committing a rash act to endanger the personal safety of others for her role in the incident, which was caught on a video that was widely shared.

The feud between the two women occurred after 3pm on June 2, 2023, and started after the cyclist, Nicolette Tan Shi-en, felt that Ow, who was on her way to i12 Katong shopping mall to teach a cooking class at 3.30pm, was too close to her while they were turning into East Coast Road from Still Road South.

Following a verbal exchange, Tan jumped onto the bonnet of Ow’s car, before Ow drove about 100m at a speed of around 20kmh.

Apart from the short detention order, which entails jail time but no criminal record post-release, Ow will be disqualified from holding or obtaining all classes of driving licences for 12 months from the date of her release.

Court records show that she has filed an appeal against the sentence.

Tan, 33, who was a lawyer at the time of the incident, was given a five-day short detention order in October, after she pleaded guilty to a harassment charge.

In sentencing Ow, District Judge Janet Wang noted Ow’s “dismal driving history”, which includes a drink-driving conviction in May 2006, for which she was fined $2,300 and disqualified from driving for 14 months.

The district judge also highlighted a more recent incident, when she was convicted for failing to conform to a red light signal on March 19, 2021, and fined $400.

“I observe with some misgiving that the accused has not learnt from her traffic violations and persisted in her cavalier manner of driving,” she added.

The district judge said she recognised that while Ow was not the aggressor in the confrontation with Tan, her reaction was “far in excess of reasonable behaviour” and that any reasonable person would have enlisted the assistance of the police and waited for their arrival.

She added: “It is hardly a Herculean task for the accused to make alternative arrangements for her cooking class.

“Neither is it challenging for her to contact her students and their parents to explain the situation that she was in to account for her lateness in starting her class.”

According to court documents, Tan caught up to Ow’s car in East Coast Road after turning and stood in front of it to confront her. They got into a verbal exchange.

Ow wanted to leave the scene multiple times but could not, as Tan positioned herself in a way that left her without enough space to drive off safely.

In one such attempt, her car came into contact with Tan’s bicycle, causing Tan to shout at her.

A more heated verbal exchange then ensued.

As this was going on, Tan opened the driver’s door of Ow’s car slightly, causing Ow to shout at her not to do that.

Tan then moved to the front of the car, after which Ow inched forward and stopped.

Ow alighted, picked up Tan’s bicycle and carried it to the side before returning to her car, saying that she had a class to get to.

After Tan continued to block her car, Ow inched forward and nudged Tan’s legs multiple times. Tan then jumped onto the bonnet of the car.

Ow muttered “OK” to herself and accelerated, with Tan on the car.

Throughout the journey, Tan held on to one of the car’s windscreen wipers and pounded on the windscreen, screaming for Ow to stop.

Tan continued to hold on to the windscreen wiper even as Ow stopped the car, letting go only after coaxing from several passers-by.