Singapore: When she saw a van driver not stopping on the zebra crossing she was standing on, a woman followed him to the parking lot, confronted him, and put her hand on his windshield.
The man started his engine and pushed his vehicle forward. Although she yelled at him to stop, she still touched her three times.
Mazlan Ujod, 46, was sentenced to one month in prison on Wednesday (October 27) and was banned from driving for one year. He pleaded guilty to a charge of harm caused by reckless behavior endangering personal safety.
The court learned that the victim was about to cross the zebra crossing in Jurong West at 9.50pm on April 6, 2019, when she saw the defendant driving his van.
When he approached the intersection, she did not cross the road, but noticed that he did not stop at the zebra crossing. Instead, he drove into a parking lot near 492 Jurong West 41st Street.
The victim followed the vehicle because she wanted to confront the driver and check if he was drunk. When questioned, Mazlan said that he had not seen her because it was dark and he was not drunk.
The woman told him to wait for the police to come, but Mazlan said he was in a hurry and boarded his van.
The prosecutor said that because the woman did not want Mazlan to leave, she stood in front of his van with her hands on the windshield.
Mazlan started his engine and pushed forward, his van touching the woman’s thigh.
The victim moved backwards, and Mazlan pushed the van forward again and made contact with her again. The victim yelled at Mazlan, asking him to stop hitting her with the van.
Finally, after hitting the victim with his car again, Mazlan managed to drive away. The police arrived after Mazlan left.
The victim was taken to the hospital for treatment. As the leg pain did not go away, she came back a few days later and was kept under surveillance for a few days. She was diagnosed with a knee contusion and was granted hospital leave.
Mazlan’s lawyer requested clemency, saying her client had not been convicted before. She said that he is the only breadwinner in the family, and long-term imprisonment will make him unemployed.
The prosecutor said that Mazlan tried to shirk the blame on the victim, which showed his lack of remorse. However, she did not seek a compensation order because she pointed out that there was a “possibility of civil litigation.”
Mazlan was liable to imprisonment for up to one year and a fine of up to S$5,000 for causing harm due to reckless behavior endangering personal safety.
