A Singaporean motorist involved in a road rage incident in Johor has been fined a total of RM9,100 (S$2,760) by a magistrate’s court in Johor Bahru on June 12. Cheng Kuan Poh, 40, pleaded guilty to a charge of mischief and causing damage to property, as well as another charge of using words or gestures intended to insult another’s modesty. He received fines of RM4,300 and RM4,800 for the two charges, respectively. Offenders for each charge may face fines, imprisonment for up to five years, or both.

Court documents state that Cheng was accused of causing damages to a Malaysian-registered BMW car in Skudai town on June 7. He was also accused of insulting the driver of the BMW, Mr. Ng Yeow Meng, 32, by allegedly spitting in his face. Video clips of the incident went viral on social media, leading to Cheng's arrest by Johor police on June 8, a day after the altercation with Mr. Ng.

The incident report was lodged on June 7, with the BMW driver claiming that Cheng honked the horn multiple times while driving in the Tun Aminah area in Skudai. Cheng, driving a Singapore-registered Toyota Altis, was represented in court by his lawyer, Ms. Norfarahin Mohd Yazid. She pleaded for leniency citing Cheng's first-time offence, lack of prior offences, single status, responsibility for elderly parents, and a monthly income of $2,000. Cheng appeared in court wearing a grey T-shirt, and the charges were read to him in Mandarin.

Harith Mustaffa is a journalist covering Malaysia for The Straits Times, focusing on Johor.