Driver claims cyclist showed middle finger

THE employer of the 36-year-old driver, a logistics company, gave a different account of the incident.

The assistant operations and safety manager of the company said: "The driver informed us that he did not swerve to the cyclist's path, he sounded the horn before overtaking the cyclist."

The driver had been working with the company for three years and had a clean record, he added.

The safety manager showed The New Paper the police report made by the driver on 4 Feb at the neighbourhood police post at Jurong West Ave 5.

The driver was also not aware that Mr Ang had fallen off his bicycle, said the safety manager.

He said that in both the report and in an interview with the company, the driver had claimed that he had been abused by the cyclists.

The driver had claimed that Mr Ang showed him the middle finger.

Said the safety manager: "The driver stopped his vehicle at a safe distance and tried to reason with the lead cyclist (Mr Ang)."

The driver also claimed that Mr Ang threw a water bottle at him when he stopped the vehicle to question him about the gesture.

However, the safety manager said if the driver was found by police to have driven recklessly, the company will take action.

He said: "We view safety with utmost importance and will not tolerate our driver behaving badly.

"We will not hesitate to terminate his employment should the finding be the same as that reported by the cyclist."

As for the earlier incident on 26 Jan, he said the vehicle was not at the scene at that time.

The safety manager said: "We have a GPS system and vehicle tracking software which allows us to track vehicle speed and location.

"Even braking harshly can be captured by our system. This is in addition to customer's and other motorist's feedback."

Further action will depend on police findings, he said.

shreeann@sph.com.sg

This article was first published in The New Paper.