Cyclist who fought with bus driver in Punggol appeals after serving 7-day sentence

The cyclist who was given a seven-day short detention order (SDO) for fighting with a bus driver over a lane dispute is appealing against his conviction and sentence.

The 49-year-old cyclist, Chia Meng Chiang, filed the appeal after completing his sentence.

Chia was given the SDO after being convicted of committing an affray, an offence in which two or more people disturb the public peace by fighting in a public place.

What is an SDO?

According to the Singapore Courts, an SDO is a type of community-based sentence (CBS) intended to act as a "deterrent by allowing the offender to experience prison life".

Upon successfully completing a CBS, the offence for which an offender was convicted is removed from their criminal record.

What happened

According to court documents seen by Mothership, the incident occurred at Punggol East on Nov. 25, 2024, at about 6:41pm.

Chia and Khong Heng Chuen, the driver for bus service 85, were at a red light at the junction of Punggol East and Punggol Field Walk.

When the traffic light turned green, both men moved forward, with Chia making a sharp left lane change, cutting in front of the bus and subsequently towards the leftmost lane.

The bus driver honked at Chia, who then slowed down and caused the bus driver to step onto his emergency brake.

An altercation ensued, with both men confronting each other verbally and filming each other on their phones, before things got physical.

Both men sustained injuries as a result of the fight.

For voluntarily causing hurt, Khong was also given a seven-day SDO.

During the three-day trial

Chia claimed a trial on the charge.

Chia, who was self-represented, admitted that he had committed some acts of violence against the bus driver.

However, the question was whether Chia had acted in self-defence.

In the judgment, District Judge Cheng Yuxi said that she did not accept that Chia's actions were a result of self-defence for several reasons.

In summary, she did not think Chia acted in self-defence as there was "no reasonable apprehension" of force from Khong at the junctures when Chia charged towards him with his head bent towards his stomach, and when he ran towards Khong and kicked after Khong had already retreated.

In the end, District Judge Cheng Yuxi found that the prosecution had proven the charge against Chia beyond a reasonable doubt and convicted him of the charge accordingly.

Served his sentence

Chia indicated that he was ready to begin serving the SDO on the same day the district judge sentenced him to the seven-day order.

However, according to court documents seen by Mothership, Chia filed an appeal against the conviction and sentence.

This was after he had served his seven-day order.

According to CNA, the appeal will be heard at a later date.