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A WOMAN driver cut into his lane, so he honked at her. This led to hand-gesturing, more honking, tailgating and finally a confrontation that ended with a headbutt. The road rage incident landed Lai Yew Sing in court in April. He pleaded guilty to one count of voluntarily causing hurt and was fined $1,000. Lai, 40, a major in the Singapore Navy, had headbutted the woman driver's passenger on his face. The attack left Dr Jason Chia Kok Kiong, 34, an associate consultant with the Changi Sports Medicine Centre at Changi General Hospital, with a fractured nose. The court heard that Dr Chia was in a car driven by his colleague, Ms Sharon Seah, on 18 Mar last year, around 1.30pm. They were travelling along South Buona Vista Road heading to The Village Centre near Pasir Panjang when Ms Seah, an occupational therapist, filtered into the right lane. Lai, who was driving behind Ms Seah, sounded the horn at her. His heavily-pregnant wife was with him. GESTURED WITH HER HANDS Ms Seah gestured with her hand at Lai through her rear view mirror to indicate her displeasure. She applied her brakes intermittently on the winding road and this further enraged Lai, who tailgated her and honked again. On arriving at The Village Centre, Ms Seah drove into the basement carpark. Lai followed and parked his car first. Dr Chia alighted from Ms Seah's car before she parked. He walked towards Lai's car to look at and memorise its licence plate number, court documents revealed. Meanwhile, Lai headed toward Ms Seah's car and shouted at her while she remained seated inside. As Dr Chia was walking back to Ms Seah's car, both men crossed paths. Lai was still shouting at Ms Seah, scolding her for driving badly. As the two men stood close to each other, Lai suddenly headbutted Dr Chia on his face. His nose started bleeding profusely and he called the police. Lai did not leave the scene. Dr Chia received treatment for his fractured nose at the National University Hospital. Lai's lawyer, Mr Thangavelu, said in his mitigation that Lai had followed Ms Seah's car because he wanted an explanation from her. He said: 'The driver flashed her middle finger twice into her rear view mirror. 'She also stuck her hand outside the window showing the same gesture and later braked intermittently for no apparent reason.' He added that Lai had felt intimidated by Ms Seah's behaviour and was concerned for the safety of his wife, who was eight months' pregnant. Mr Thangavelu said Lai had regretted his impulsive behaviour and had apologised to Dr Chia and offered to compensate him for his injury. The court heard that after completing his national service in 1987, Lai signed on with the navy and had an excellent service record. He reached the rank of major in 2003. Mr Thangavelu said Lai would lose his entire retirement benefits of $283,000, which he accumulated over 20 years, if he was sent to prison. In her written judgment, District Judge Hamidah Ibrahim said she saw Lai's actions as a momentary loss of temper or control. 'I find that there was some provocation on the part of Ms Seah in the manner in which she drove her car that day,' she said. SWERVED SUDDENLY 'She swerved suddenly into his lane, forcing him to take evasive action by jamming his brakes and sounding the horn.' The judge added that Ms Seah's waving of her hands could have been perceived by Lai as the flashing of her middle finger. 'It was unfortunate that Lai had used his head to headbutt the nose of the victim,' she said. 'However, I find it in his favour that he did it only once and it was not premeditated and no weapon was used.' She also noted that the conviction was adequate punishment for Lai since it was fairly obvious that his career would now be ruined. While there is a need to protect the public from acts of violence, she did not think Lai deserved a jail sentence. Lai was fined the maximum of $1,000, which he paid. The prosecution appealed against the sentence. The appeal will be heard in the High Court on 17 Jul. For voluntarily causing hurt, Lai could also have been jailed for one year. This article was first published in The New Paper on 14 June 2008.

any kind soul have the link to the recent news about tv licence?

Notice some plate r white based with black numbering & some the other way round. Some even have yellow base..... Is there a meaning to it????

hi there anyone can advice where to take vocational licence? can i buy a PA licenced van on my own or do i need a company to tie up the van to? thanks

hi hi normally i dun compliant but this joker really makes my blood boil! was at bedok north carpark behind the new sheng shiong supermarket sundays nite... was waiting for a parking lot for abt half n hr but to no avail... so decided to park at the side n make a quick dash to the shop n buy my stuffs while my family members waiting in the car. few mins later wen i came back, saw a jammed where i parked my car caused by a joker who drives in a wrong way n stuck beside my car as there r oncoming car in-front of him which have the rite of way as its a one way road. then in the end have to reversed out. as i was getting into my car....this joker have the cheek to stare at me as im in the wrong...so i told him that he turn into a one way road causing the blocking and jammed the road. he wind down his window n shouted that im causing the jammed by parking there... i said to him halo...im waiting for a parking lot here same as all the other cars behind me. if he enters even further in he could have caused the jammed as ITS A ONE WAY ROAD!! he still wants to argue but i juz drove off....then frm behind he high beam me but i juz ignore the joker.... to the joker if u r in here....how do u get ur licence!!?

Yo Bros, especially Octy A5s - just gotten some terrific help from a LED Guru who had been able to customise the white LED for our Octy A5 rear licence plate light. Background: As you know, the Octavia A5s operates somewhat like Audi and VW: the ECU tends to shutdown the norm LED thinking the bulb is not working as LED draws lesser current than the standard. Those whos interested to view - let me know har.. either we can meet somewhere, or I will dropby the next meetup (need to collect stuff from Bro limlien :P)

Went to KL last Friday and along NSH befor Ayer Keroh was stopped by the Traffic Police not for speeding but told me my car licence plate chrome nos is illegal and threaten to issue me a summon. After some arguments and contributed RM$30.00 to his personal pocket. Those m... f... really desperate for money

My dear got her Licence in her 4th TP, she is exciting but feeling a bit shame

Yo bros n sisters in MCF, wanna ask about licence plate transfers... My current car is super old, with an "ET" place, and I'm thinking of keeping it, and transferring to my next car, but problem is that I heard that licence plates can only be transferred if you're buying a new car? What if I'm buying a second hand car? Can transfer over?

How does one go about making a replacement for a loss card? Or change the photo in it? I've gone to look into LTA, onemotoring, SPF and found no information.

This is my original email to MDA: Hi, I have some questions on the car radio licence scheme in Singapore which need your clarification: 1. Why is there a need for car owners (with receivers) to pay car licence whereas owners of MP3 players, handphones, alarm clocks with radio are exempted from the same fee? How about users accessing the radio free from the internet? 2. Is Singapore following some international standards in this radio licence scheme? Could you provide some examples? 3. What is the licence fee used for? Are not the radio stations already privatised? 4. I do not listen the radio on my receiver. However, the receiver is needed for my mp3 playback. Do you have a disabling service for the radio reception on my receiver without the need to remove the entire unit? Looking for the favourable reply. Thanks. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This is the formal reply. Nice attempt but of zero substance: We refer to your email of 21 December 2006 on the above subject. We would like to explain that a vehicle radio licence is required as long as a radio receiver is installed in the vehicle, regardless of the nature or frequency of use of the broadcasting device. The collection of both TV and Radio licence fees is still necessary to ensure that the public has access to public service broadcast (PSB) programmes in the four official languages. Such broadcasts include current affairs, information, culture, local sports, quality drama, children’s and minority language programmes. These are local programmes that help keep Singaporeans informed about issues of relevance to them, bond the various community groups, and help to anchor local audiences to Singapore. Unlike mass entertainment programmes, PSB programmes often do not attract sufficient advertising revenue and hence need to be supported. Besides Singapore, many countries like UK, Japan, France, Norway and Germany collect TV licence fees to fund their TV stations. Funding support for such programmes has enabled our broadcast services to offer greater balance and variety in their programming to serve the needs of our society. There have also been many developments for audiences in Singapore since 1994, including an increase in the number of free-to-air channels from 16 radio and 4 free-to-air TV channels in 1994 to 18 radio and 6 free-to-air TV channels currently, as well as developments in new technologies such as digital audio and digital TV broadcasting. All these have been achieved although the licence fees have remained unchanged since 1994. For household who have taken up TV Licences, they do not require to apply for household radio, mobile phones and MP3 players. Thank you for your attention on this matter. Yours sincerely Tan Jennie (Ms) Customer Service Officer for Director Customer & Licensing Services

Hi all, If you intend to order a set of embossed number plate and holder (with customised letterings), you can approach MRS Signs at Hoy Fatt Road. I have corresponded with Mr Owyong. He has kindly agreed to accord the special price of $45 for all Skoda owners. Before you head down to MRS, please PM me so that I can alert the branch manager, Winson, to accord the special price when you place your order. MRS Signs has been the preferred licence plate supplier for Premium Automobiles, Wearnes Automotive Group. Unlike some suppliers which use cheap and heavy plates, MRS uses aluminium plates imported from Germany.

Anybody knows where and how to get class 4 driving licence? Any theory lesson and how long b4 can get licence? Can someone kind enuff please share more info here? Thanks!

It is OK to rent & drive a car in California without an International Driver Licence? Any Driving Tips on safe & economical drive thru San Francisco, LA & Los Angeles? Can share your experience here?

I intend to remove the rear licence plate to polish, seal and wax the hidden paintwork. Has anyone here done it before? How do I go about it? TIA.

Hi, Once in a while, I see cars (usually big, sporty, and expensive ones) having SxxxxCD license plates. Does anyone know who or what organization uses such license plates? Rdgs.

Dear bros... Need some feedback.... Does a black car look better with a licence plate of 1) white font on black backgnd for front and back or 2) black font on white backgnd for front and black font on yellow backgnd for back? anyway the SE gives me white on black as default rite? do i have to pay more if i request for the white/yellow combi? thanks

I've been driving for 10+ years and still hold a valid Australian licence but I have been in SG for over 12 months now so I can't go for the conversion. Question is, what do I now need to do? I understand I need the Basic Theory Test and then can I apply immediately for the driving test? I don't need any lessons, just need a car on the test day itself, are there individuals or companies who rent cars out just for testing? Any help much appreciated. Thanks!

Hi All Went down S.A today and was surprise that Aveo now have new accessories : NEW : 1)Chrome Licence Plate Boot Trim $125 w/o GST 2)Rear Spoiler come at $500 w/o GST ( come with Sprayed to body color ) Exisiting : 1)Sunglass holder $38 2)Wooden gearknob for A/T model $85 3)Under bonnet Sound insulation $125 4)Front Tweeters

Just to chk if we need to apply for Vehicle TV Licence if we install a TV tuner in the car. Found this in the MDA website but not sure if it is applicable. Vehicle TV Licence A Vehicle TV Licence is required if a TV set is installed in a vehicle. http://www.mda.gov.sg/licences/l_vehicletv.html