Man fined for throwing bicycle on car that hit him
Canadian cyclist in road rage video fined for mischief
Annoyed by a slow-moving taxi, Mr Woo Wing Onn honked at it. But a cyclist who was in front of his car turned around and gestured at him.
The cyclist then stopped his bicycle and Mr Woo's Honda Civic knocked into its rear. Jason Blair Unger got off, lifted his bicycle and dropped it on the bonnet of Mr Woo's car.
Yesterday, the 40-year-old Canadian academic consultant, who has been in Singapore since 2010, was fined $2,500 for the act of mischief on Oct 17 last year.
Court papers said Mr Woo, 48, was driving along Selegie Road at about 9.50pm that day with his wife.
As he approached Mackenzie Road, Mr Woo filtered to the left of the five lanes as he prepared to make a left turn.
But a slow-moving taxi was in his way. Mr Woo's in-car camera recorded him grumbling to his wife: "Hurry up lah, stupid taxi."
He filtered back one lane to the right and ended up just behind Unger, who was pedalling hard on his Brompton bike and sensed that Mr Woo's car was approaching close behind him.
The slow-moving taxi then filtered right to the same lane because of a stationary lorry ahead and Mr Woo honked at it.
He could be heard complaining about Unger to his wife, muttering: "Stupid bicycle also another one (sic)."
His wife told him: "Be careful".
By this time, Mr Woo's car was very close to Unger's bicycle, prompting the cyclist to turn around and gesture at Mr Woo with his hand.
STOPPED
Unger stopped his bicycle and Mr Woo's car came into contact with its rear when he could not brake in time.
After dropping his bicycle on Mr Woo's car bonnet, leaving dents and scratches near the headlights and registration plate, Unger approached Mr Woo.
He asked why Mr Woo had hit his bicycle, adding that he was "someone with a kid".
Mr Woo apologised. His wife then alighted from the car and confronted Unger about the damage to the car.
The Canadian explained that he had thrown the bicycle on the car because he was frustrated and feared for his safety as Mr Woo was travelling very closely behind him.
Mr Woo's wife called the police, who arrived in 10 minutes.
On Oct 20 last year, a Kah Motor service centre quoted Mr Woo about $2,220 to repair the bonnet.
Court papers said that Unger had made full restitution to Mr Woo.
Yesterday, defence lawyer Andy Chiok said in mitigation that Unger, who teaches English at a private school, is not a violent person.
He said his client had committed the offence because he was concerned for his safety as a cyclist and not out of malice. Mr Chiok also said that Unger is married to a Singaporean and they have a 1½ years old son.
He added that Mr Woo had uploaded a video of the incident on citizen journalism website Stomp and the video subsequently appeared on other sites as well, resulting in a backlash against Unger and shaming him.
For causing mischief leading to a loss of or damage costing over $500, Unger could have been jailed up to two years and/or fined.
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