SINGAPORE — A 27-year-old delivery rider was fined the maximum S$2,500 on Thursday (June 24) after pleading guilty to committing a rash act on the roads.

Willie Lee Jia Xing, who worked for Foodpanda at the time, was waiting on his motorcycle at a traffic junction along Draycott Drive in the Tanglin area close to noon on June 9 last year. 

He was in the left lane while a car was on his right, the court heard. When the light turned green, the other driver moved off first. 

Lee got upset as he thought the other man had almost hit him, so he accelerated and overtook the car a few seconds later.

He then immediately slowed down in front of the car, forcing the driver to switch to the left lane.

Lee proceeded to hit the car’s right side mirror twice, dislodging it, before speeding off.

The victim was able to reattach the mirror without incurring any costs. He then made a police report at Tanglin Police Division headquarters later that day.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Hidayat Amir sought the fine imposed, saying there were some aggravating factors that included Lee having a prior traffic-related offence.

He had been convicted in 2016 of driving a vehicle without a licence or insurance and also exhibited a forged or defaced identification mark or licence plate.

District Judge Christopher Goh, who agreed with the prosecutor’s submissions, advised Lee to take down the licence plate number and report the matter to the police if it happened to him again.

“It’s a high-pressure thing to drive on Singapore roads so you’ve to react better,” the judge added.

He fixed the default jail term as one day. As Lee — who did not have a lawyer — has been in remand since June 10, he will be released immediately. 

For committing a rash act that endangered the life and personal safety of others, he could have been jailed for up to six months or fined up to S$2,500, or both.