Causeway collision leads to driver altercation

He says he sent an invoice from the workshop on Oct 14, but claims there has been no response from the other party as of Oct 30 — the date of the post.

From the WhatsApp text messages, one Madam Tan asked for an itemised receipt on Oct 13, and an invoice was sent the next day. However, Madam Tan’s next message again asks for an itemised receipt and not a “lump sum”.

The reply on Oct 15 to Madam Tan was that the workshop was slow to provide the document, but an itemised receipt appears to have been sent later that day.

Two more messages were sent — on Oct 17 and 21 — asking how Madam Tan intended to settle payment, but there was no reply to either of the texts.

“We have given them sufficient time and have made genuine attempts to resolve this matter privately, but they have continued to remain unresponsive,” says Ooi.

He also clarifies that it is not his intention to blow the matter up, and hopes the other party “takes responsibility, honours their earlier commitment, and cooperates to resolve this matter as soon as possible.”

Netizens unimpressed by driver’s attitude

Netizens were far from impressed with the Toyota Picnic driver’s attitude.

“It’s clearly the old uncle’s fault, yet you still make a big fuss and fight with people, being unreasonable and acting like a clown. Just shouting loudly will win people over, right?” said a netizen.

“I would immediately call the police! People like this don’t deserve a chance,” another said.

Several were surprised that the original poster decided to allow the matter to be settled privately.

“It’s better to claim insurance — you go to a private settlement, just in case he avoids it, you’ll get into trouble yourself,” said a Facebook user.

“In future, no need to explain much about any collision. Just report to the insurance. If the other party is loud, just tell them to go away!” another advised.

Car sustained scratches and broken side mirror

Speaking to Stomp, Ooi, a Malaysian, said he was driving a Toyota Vios at the time and that repairs for the damages — which included scratches and a broken side mirror — cost about RM350 (S$110).

“His attitude was aggressive, and I felt that he was more interested in blaming me than resolving the situation. He repeatedly accused me of not moving my car, claiming that this was what caused the accident,” said Ooi.

“However, my car was completely stationary at the time. From my perspective, he was attempting to cut into the lane and ended up scraping my vehicle.

“He also told me to go into Singapore — he wants to fight with me,” Ooi claimed.

Eventually, though, the man said he would settle the matter privately.

“The man clearly told me that if I provided him with the repair quotation, he would reimburse me for the repair costs. Based on his assurance, I was willing to settle the matter privately instead of making things more complicated,” said Ooi, who was worried that going through his insurance company for a claim against a Singapore-registered vehicle would affect his no-claim discount.

“Therefore, I discussed the matter privately with Madam Tan — the man’s wife — and agreed to settle it directly. She also agreed to this arrangement.

“Unfortunately, after I provided the repair quotation, they stopped responding to my messages and calls.

“If someone agrees to compensate another party for damage caused by an accident, the least they should do is honour that agreement,” said Ooi.

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