SINGAPORE: A 61-year-old Singaporean man who inched his Bentley forward into a security officer outside Red Swastika School in January was on Wednesday (Oct 19) sentenced to eight weeks’ jail and a fine of S$600.
Neo Hong Chye was also banned from driving for 12 months, after pleading guilty to causing hurt through a rash act outside the school in Bedok.
The security officer, 62-year-old Neo Ah Whatt, suffered pain in his right knee as a result of the incident.
The Bentley driver also pleaded guilty to one count of driving without insurance. The car belonged to his son’s motor trade business.
Neo had been charged alongside his son, 28-year-old Glynn Neo Jia, who is accused of altering the car’s licence plate on Jan 11 and allowing his father to use the car without insurance coverage that morning.
Asked in court about the licence plate, the prosecution said the different licence plate had been for “photoshoot purposes” for the car business, according to investigations.
Glynn Neo has not been dealt with by the courts.
NEO WAS DRIVING GRANDDAUGHTER TO SCHOOL
The court heard that on Jan 11, Neo was sending his granddaughter to Red Swastika School at around 7.30am. The victim had started his shift as a security officer earlier.
Neo was originally in the leftmost lane, queuing up to enter the school through its main gate. However, he left the lane and attempted to bypass the queue of cars waiting to enter by turning left into the exit lane of the school.
Before he could enter the main gate, however, Neo was stopped by the victim, who stood in front of the car. The victim signalled to Neo to move off to a side gate instead.
Instead of leaving, Neo inched the car forward into the victim for eight seconds, causing the victim to move back. At this point, Neo alighted from the car to ask the victim why he could not enter the school.
The victim replied that he was not in the queue and sought assistance from the school’s operations manager, who also told Neo he could not enter the school from the exit lane.
Despite this, Neo inched forward into the victim for another 15 seconds. This caused the victim to move and stumble back. The victim tapped on the car’s bonnet to ask him to stop.
The incident was captured in videos that were widely circulated earlier this year.
Eventually, Neo was allowed to enter the school’s main gate from the entry lane.
After the incident, the victim sought medical attention and was diagnosed with a right knee bruise. He was given medical leave for three days.
Neo’s lawyer, Mr John Lim, said that his client was “genuinely remorseful” and has not had a restful night since the incident. He tried to apologise to the victim in person but was told to let the law take its course, said the lawyer.
Mr Lim said his client had not intended to cut the queue and was not familiar with the route as it was his first time sending his granddaughter to school. He missed the correct gate initially and had to make a U-turn, said Mr Lim.
For committing a rash act causing hurt, Neo could have been jailed for up to a year, or fined up to S$5,000, or both.