SINGAPORE - An elderly woman who has become infamous for causing a fuss with her Ferrari is now facing life in the slow lane.
Shi Ka Yee, 73, was sentenced to a total of six weeks' jail for a string of offences, ranging from obstructing Orchard Road in a road rage row, to trapping a tree pruner high on a crane in an argument with her neighbour.
In a hearing on Friday (Oct 12), District Judge Lim Tse Haw told Shi that she could not "behave in such a belligerent manner over such trivial matters".
In March this year, Shi was sentenced to four weeks in prison for punching a motorist after he refused to let her car pass in 2014, and in court on Friday, she received another fortnight for three offences committed over three separate incidents between 2015 and 2017.
Shi, who used to own a design and architecture company, was also fined $4,500, and disqualified from driving for 20 months.
In 2015, Shi left a tree pruner high up on a crane above her garden after taking the keys to it, in a row about a tree with her next-door neighbour.
The following year, she stopped her car in the middle of Orchard Road after another motorist complained she was driving too slowly.
Last year, she was arrested for drink-driving after ignoring a police officer's repeated advice to not get behind the wheel.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Wong Kok Weng called for Shi to be fined and given a short jail term for the offences she committed in these three incidents.
But defence counsel N. Sreenivasan called for a lighter sentence, saying Shi had no criminal record prior to 2014 and had also been diagnosed with major depressive disorder, which was an important underlying factor for her offences.
However, Judge Lim found her condition did not cause or significantly contribute to her offences, and pointed out that her culpability in the tree pruning and road obstruction incidents was high.
"Singapore is a country governed by rule of law, the court has to send a loud and clear message that you cannot take the law into your own hands," said the judge.
Shi is currently out on bail, and will report back to court on Oct 25 to commence the sentence.
