'He's a nobody, why do this to him?'

rloh@sph.com.sg

His Honda Civic was caught on video chasing two cars mere hours apart on the same day, overtaking them and braking to a sudden halt in the middle lane.

In the earlier incident, at about 9am last Wednesday, the Honda driver, identified as Mr Quek Zhen Hao, got out and strode towards the other driver who wisely drove off, only to be pursued again.

In the later incident, at about 1pm, the same Honda Civic, whose driver could not be seen, was filmed tailgating a car that was apparently driven by a woman who had her young child with her. (See report below.)

The videos, which went viral earlier this week, prompted netizens to call Mr Quek a road bully and slam him for his reckless driving and confrontational behaviour.

HIS MOTHER SAYS

When The New Paper went to Mr Quek's HDB flat yesterday afternoon, he was not home.

His mother (left), who looked to be in her 50s, stood up for him and spoke out against the netizens: Why harass my son?

She said the family had suffered because of the media storm and online abuse.

"Our address, car licence plate number and (his) particulars are all online for everyone to see," she said in a mix of Mandarin and English.

"We were affected during Chinese New Year and could not enjoy (the festive period) because of this.

"He's a nobody, not someone famous. Why would people do this to him?"

She added that her son "may have done something wrong by driving like that, but he wouldn't have done that without a reason".

"He said the driver had pointed the middle finger and provoked him. That's why he reacted.

"But many Singaporean drivers also have a foul temper. So why target just him?"

HIS EXPLANATION

A Mr Quek had earlier identified himself as the driver in the video on The Online Citizen's Facebook page to explain his actions.

In his post, he said that he had chased the first driver because he wanted to find out why the latter had "pointed a middle finger at me" after they had a stand-off in a carpark.

"If u dare to point a middle finger at me, why dont u dare to wind down your window and tell me the reason instead of driving off," he wrote.

When TNP visited the flat again in the evening, a tall, burly man - who looked like the man in the video - appeared briefly before going back into the unit.

Seconds later, other family members came to the door.

His father said they were in contact with the police and a lawyer to take action against the publication online of their home address.

NETIZENS SAY

The videos were first posted on YouTube and later reposted on citizen journalism website Stomp.

The person who alerted Stomp to the video, giving his name as James, wrote: "Although the full story behind this video is unknown, I believe both parties are at fault.

"But that doesn't warrant the dangerous driving behaviour of the Honda Civic driver. His actions caused unnecessary risk and danger to other road users."

As for the second video, Stomper Hui Jun said his female friend was taking her toddler home when the driver of the Honda Civic started tailgating her car though there was no provocation.

"My friend then decided to accelerate and signal left to give way to this car. He immediately followed suit and accelerated into the left lane," he said.

The Honda then overtook the car.

When TNP tried accessing Mr Quek's Facebook page yesterday afternoon it was no longer available.

On the Singapore Police Facebook page, the Traffic Police said they were looking into both videos involving Mr Quek's car.

They said they had called up the driver for investigation and are appealing to the drivers who recorded the incidents to come forward and help with investigations.

Anyone else with additional information regarding the incidents can also provide them to the Traffic Police via SPF_Feedback_TP@spf.gov.sg.

ABOUT THE VIDEOS

Two videos which featured Mr Quek Zhen Hao's Honda Civic went viral earlier this week.

FIRST VIDEO

The first, uploaded last Saturday on citizen journalism website Stomp, showed Mr Quek having a stand-off around 9am with another motorist at the entrance of an open-air carpark in Bukit Panjang last Wednesday.

The motorist, whose in-car camera was filming the stand-off, reverses his car but Mr Quek's Honda edges towards him.

After about a minute, he drives away, only to be chased by Mr Quek.

Mr Quek overtakes him and at one point stops his car and walks towards the other car which drives away. Mr Quek gives chase again and after overtaking the other car, stops in the middle lane.

He opens his door, but does not get out.

The 4min 20sec video ends with both cars going separate ways.

SECOND VIDEO

The other video was uploaded three days later, but its time stamp indicates that the incident took place at 1pm, a few hours after the first incident last Wednesday.

In the edited 40sec video, Mr Quek's Honda is filmed tailgating another car by its rear in-car camera. The front in-car camera then shows the Honda overtaking the car before braking to a sudden stop.

According to the Stomper who posted the video, the other car was driven by a woman who had a toddler in the car.