SINGAPORE: A man who claimed he drove off with his lover’s husband on the bonnet of his car because he was scared of the other man was convicted on Tuesday (Mar 10), after District Judge Ong Luan Tze called his actions an unreasonable response, despite the situation.
Chia Hiok Seah, a 50-year-old Singaporean, was in his car at a multi-storey car park in Sengkang in the wee hours of Jun 29, 2024, with a married woman.
The pair was nude when the woman’s husband at the time, Mr Goh Yong Sern, appeared at the car park at Block 278, Compassvale Bow at about 2am.
Laying out their case, the prosecution said Mr Goh found the car and tried to open its doors but failed, then later climbed onto the bonnet to prevent Chia and his then-wife from leaving.
District Judge Ong said she appreciated that Chia and the woman would have wanted to get out of the situation as quickly as possible, but added that “this did not give them leeway to do whatever they wanted”.
Pointing out that the car doors were locked, the judge noted that there was no immediate danger of the victim gaining access to the car.
Both Chia and the woman had their phones with them and could have called for help. Or they could have honked for help since they were in the middle of a residential estate, she added.
“They did not do any of these things. Instead, their first response was to drive off while the victim was on the bonnet,” said District Judge Ong.
“I could not accept that this was a reasonable response on the part of the accused to drive off without having attempted to try anything else first, and certainly not to drive all the way out of the car park.”
Chia had claimed trial after he was accused of a rash act endangering human life by driving his car away with Mr Goh on the front bonnet, causing him to fall and sustain injuries, including a facial laceration and abrasions.
The prosecution cited video footage taken by victim that captures him climbing onto the bonnet, and Chia driving the car out of the car park with him on it. The victim can be heard saying, “You are dead, I tell you”.
Chia also pleaded guilty on Tuesday to his second charge for appearing nude in his car while in the public car park.
WHAT HAPPENED
When he took the stand in 2025, Chia told the court that he had gone for dinner with the woman, whom he called Shunyi in his testimony, with their friends.
“So initially I as usual actually dropped her at (her) place downstairs,” said Chia. “However, I think, erm… yeah. We actually then (went) up to the multi-storey carpark, have some intimacy acts.”
“After that, we (were) actually chatting inside the car, but not dressed up.”
Chia then clarified that the “intimacy acts” did not involve “anything sexual” as Shunyi was menstruating that day.
