A cyclist who jumped onto a car along East Coast Road was revealed to be suffering from various conditions, including a brain tumour.

During an altercation that took place on Jun. 2, 2023, the cyclist blocked the car with her bicycle and later hopped onto the car's bonnet after growing upset that the car had almost "rammed" into her.

Cyclist and driver charged

According to CNA, the 49-year-old car driver, Elaine Michele Ow, pleaded guilty to a charge of rashly endangering the personal safety of others.

She'd proceeded to drive her car even though the cyclist was hanging on to it.

Meanwhile, the cyclist, a 32-year-old Singaporean lawyer named Nicolette Tan Shi-en, pleaded guilty on Apr. 17, 2024, to one charge of harassing Ow.

The prosecution sought a short sentence for Tan that would not leave a criminal record. It would involve her being retained in prison for not more than two weeks to give her an experience of prison life.

But Tan's defence requested a fine of S$2,000 instead.

The defence explained that Tan suffers from various conditions, including major depressive disorder and a brain tumour.

Might have impaired judgement

Tan was diagnosed with the brain tumour shortly after the incident, reported CNA.

A psychiatrist said the tumour's onset was indiscernible but likely occurred before the incident.

Tan's lawyers said it was "highly probable" the tumour influenced Tan's behaviour.

He said this was because the tumour was in the left frontal region of the brain, which could cause personality changes, disinhibition, and impaired judgement.

What happened

On the day of the incident, Tan and Ow were both rounding a bend while travelling along Still Road South towards East Coast Road.

In a video of the incident posted on YouTube, Tan could be heard confronting Ow at a red light, expressing that the latter had wrongly overtaken her in a single lane.

Tan then used her body and bicycle to block the car.

After apologising and trying to drive around Tan multiple times, Ow came out to move Tan's bike aside.

This caused Tan to jump on the bonnet of Ow's car in retaliation, holding on even when Ow started driving.

Tan eventually slipped off the car at the car park entrance of i12 Katong when the car stopped.

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Top images via Singapore Incidents/YouTube