A former engineer was sentenced to five months and two weeks in jail yesterday for a hit-and-run incident that saw him repeatedly intimidate a motorcyclist and his pillion rider in a seven-minute road rampage.
Ho Loong Chan, 65, kept veering close to the bike and applying the brakes to his Toyota Camry intermittently. At one point, he even forced the biker onto the road shoulder before getting ahead of him and abruptly slamming his brakes.
Assistant Public Prosecutor (APP) Andrew Low described Ho - who was also fined $800 and disqualified from driving for four years - as a "clear road bully" whose actions were "deplorable", adding that the driver has a chequered past in terms of road offences.
In his submissions, APP Low said Ho has an "alarmingly similar pattern of inconsiderate, even dangerous driving behaviour" with antecedents for nine road-related offences stretching back to 1995 including inconsiderate driving, speeding and running the red light.
In the latest case on June 15, 2016, Ho's antics saw motorcyclist Muhammad Fazly Rahmat, 29, almost hitting the back of Ho's car once before the two vehicles collided along the Ayer Rajah Expressway (AYE) with the biker and his pillion rider suffering injuries.
The incident occurred on two-lane Jurong Town Hall Road, with Ho occupying the left lane while Mr Fazly and his pillion rider Siti Farina Saptu, 27, were in the right lane.
Trouble began when Ho switched lanes and overtook Mr Fazly without signalling. Although Mr Fazly switched to the left lane to avoid Ho, the driver followed his move. Mr Fazly tried to alert Ho by catching up with him, sounding the horn, but was ignored, with Ho only turning to give Mr Fazly an angry look when he knocked on Ho's window.
Ho's antics towards Mr Fazly continued when both vehicles turned into the AYE and later collided, causing Mr Fazly and his pillion rider to fall from the bike. Ho immediately drove away. Footage of the hit-and-run case was posted online.
Ho was sentenced on four counts of road-related offences - with another six taken into consideration.
He is appealing against his sentence and is out on $10,000 bail.
For rash driving, Ho could have been sentenced to jail for up to a year, fined $5,000 or both.
