Singapore
Mar 9, 2010
Man spared jail for road rage
<!-- by line --> By Elena Chong, Courts Correspondent
<!-- end by line -->
A MAN was spared a jail term for a road rage offence on Tuesday when he was fined $4,500 instead for hitting another on the shoulder and stomach.
Bjorn Henrik Jacobsen, 31, was found guilty after a trial of causing hurt to Mr Sim Seng Jin, 54, by hitting him on his left shoulder and stomach along Upper Serangoon Road on Dec 9, 2008. He was fined another $1,500 after he was convicted of using threatening and abusive words on the chartered accountant that day. Jacobsen, an estate agent, was originally accused of punching Mr Sim's face and body, but the court found that the prosecution had failed to prove this, and convicted him of the amended charge instead.
It all started when Mr Sim cut into the lane of Jacobsen, leading to an exchange. Jacobsen had sounded his horn at the victim, who responded with hand gestures. He then pursued Mr Sim for an extended distance before confronting the victim at two separate road junctions. District Judge Wong Choon Ning said that such offences usually attract a jail sentence but the eventual sentence to be meted out must depend on the unique facts and circumstances of each case. Noting the victim's minor injuries and Jacobsen's lack of similar antecedents, she said she was sparing him a jail term. 'I do not want anyone in or outside this courtroom to think that for road rage cases, maybe I can get a fine if I commit such a crime. No. 'This is one of the very rare cases where I have spared anyone convicted of road rage a jail term,'' she said. Jacobsen could have been jailed for up to two years or fined up to $5,000 or both for causing hurt. The penalty for the other offence is a fine of up to $2,000.
Mar 9, 2010
Man spared jail for road rage
<!-- by line --> By Elena Chong, Courts Correspondent
<!-- end by line -->
A MAN was spared a jail term for a road rage offence on Tuesday when he was fined $4,500 instead for hitting another on the shoulder and stomach.
Bjorn Henrik Jacobsen, 31, was found guilty after a trial of causing hurt to Mr Sim Seng Jin, 54, by hitting him on his left shoulder and stomach along Upper Serangoon Road on Dec 9, 2008. He was fined another $1,500 after he was convicted of using threatening and abusive words on the chartered accountant that day. Jacobsen, an estate agent, was originally accused of punching Mr Sim's face and body, but the court found that the prosecution had failed to prove this, and convicted him of the amended charge instead.
It all started when Mr Sim cut into the lane of Jacobsen, leading to an exchange. Jacobsen had sounded his horn at the victim, who responded with hand gestures. He then pursued Mr Sim for an extended distance before confronting the victim at two separate road junctions. District Judge Wong Choon Ning said that such offences usually attract a jail sentence but the eventual sentence to be meted out must depend on the unique facts and circumstances of each case. Noting the victim's minor injuries and Jacobsen's lack of similar antecedents, she said she was sparing him a jail term. 'I do not want anyone in or outside this courtroom to think that for road rage cases, maybe I can get a fine if I commit such a crime. No. 'This is one of the very rare cases where I have spared anyone convicted of road rage a jail term,'' she said. Jacobsen could have been jailed for up to two years or fined up to $5,000 or both for causing hurt. The penalty for the other offence is a fine of up to $2,000.
