A 52-YEAR-OLD man who was ferrying students and teachers in his
private coach lost his cool when another bus cut into his lane
along Farrer Road last May.
He trailed the bus, SMRT service no. 961, to a nearby bus stop,
where he confronted and later punched driver Mr Wong Kam Weng, 36,
before driving off.
On Wednesday, Yeo Teck Kiang showed no expression when he was
jailed for five weeks in a district court for voluntarily hurting
Mr Wong.
The court heard that after the incident, Mr Wong, who suffered
from a swelling on his head, sought treatment at a polyclinic and
was given three days' medical leave.
Pleading for leniency, Yeo's lawyer Mr Shashi Nathan said that
the court must distinguish between a case where a member of the
public attacks a public transport worker and one where an
altercation occurs between two such workers.
He said: 'Moreover, the injuries sustained were very minor.'
However Assistant Public Prosecutor Nicholas Ngoh retorted that
Yeo's actions would have been seen by young impressionable students
who were on board the coach.
Calling Yeo the 'sole aggressor', Mr Ngoh added that it would
send the wrong message that violence on the road is condoned.
According to court documents, Yeo had driven onto a flyover
along Lornie Road on May 14, 2007, ferrying students and teachers
to Dunman High School from Tampines MRT Station.
But when his coach entered Farrer Road, the traffic lanes merged
and Yeo noticed that Mr Wong had cut into his lane.
Enraged, he followed behind Mr Wong's bus until it stopped at a
bus stop opposite Queens Road Wet Market to pick up and allow
passengers to alight.
As Mr Wong pulled out of the bus stop, Yeo overtook his bus and
stopped alongside it. Opening the passenger door of his coach, Yeo
confronted Mr Wong as he had been unhappy that the bus had blocked
him at the bus stop.
Mr Wong wound down the driver's window of the bus and a heated
dispute ensued, ending in Yeo throwing him a punch on his left
cheek.
When a bus passenger, who had seen what had happened, shouted at
the two men, Yeo returned to his seat and drove off. --ST
