Y
Yuan Shao
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Aug 26, 2010
Road rage biker spared jail
<!-- by line --> By Khushwant Singh
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<!-- end left side bar --> <!-- story content : start --> WHAT Christophe Georges Andre Mille did was wrong, but the High Court noted that the French man had been provoked by some very dangerous driving by the motorist he punched. Chief Justice Chan Sek Keong felt the one-week jail term imposed by a district court on the motorcyclist was too excessive and replaced it with a $2,000 fine at an appeal hearing on Thursday.
Mille, 33, a swimming instructor, was riding home in the right lane of Jalan Bahar towards Jurong West Avenue 6 at 5.30pm on Aug 27, 2008. Despite a car travelling alongside in the left lane, Mr Chong Yuen, 54, tried to squeeze his car between the vehicles. Mr Chong's car bumped into the motorcycle sending it wobbling slightly.
Mille's lawyer Suresh Damodara told the court that any wobble can sent a motorcycle out of control. However, Deputy Public Prosecutor Gillian Koh-Tan insisted that Mille's violent reaction was disproportionate to the slight wobble the collision caused. 'He was unhurt and the motorcycle was not damaged,' she said.
Disagreeing, CJ Chan said': 'Don't you know it's very dangerous to knock into a motorcycle because the rider could fall and be run over by a car. You see the accidents. Who gets killed? It's the cyclists and motorcyclists.' Outside the courtroom, Mille told reporters that he is relieved but remains disappointed that Mr Chong has not been charged with dangerous driving.
