The photo from STOMP, "Celeb road rage: Pierre Png stops on extreme right lane of PIE to confront driver". Questions: Was the guy really Pierre Png? I couldn't really say for sure. Is Pierre Png really the owner/driver of the car with the license plate no SJB900Z? (I'm quite amused to see how Asiaone smeared the no from its article whereas STOMP maintained the photo as it is.)
Was it Pierre Png misbehaving in public, simply falling to the claws of road rage?
Or just a plain misunderstanding?
One driver had to pull over on the Pan-Island Expressway (PIE) when the car in front of him stopped suddenly, Stomp reported.
According to the website, the driver had to pull over after he "gestured disapprovingly" at who he claimed to be Pierre Png, a local actor.
The actor had apparently cut into the reader's lane abruptly, causing the motorist to react by honking and swearing at the driver of the car in front. The motorist did not realise at that point, that the other party was Pierre Png.
The reason for confrontation? Png was upset at the disapproving gesture.
According to the motorist who wrote into to Stomp, Png stopped his car on the extreme right lane of the expressway to confront the driver to get out of his vehicle.
The actor attempted to take photos of the other party when he refused to get out of his vehicle.
The incident happened at about 3.30pm this afternoon.
In an e-mail to STOMP, the motorist said:
"I was driving on the first lane of PIE towards Jurong when this car swerved into my lane without the slightest consideration that I was less than 10 metres behind.
"Fortunately I reacted quickly by slamming on my brakes and honking at the same time to indicate to the driver that what he just did was dangerous.
"I gestured to him with my hands and did curse and swear at the reckless driver in the privacy of my car.
"Now this alone was a trivial matter that happens on the road everyday, so I did not expect it when the car slowed down dramatically to a stop, forcing me to follow suit as I was only a few metres behind.
"It would have been too dangerous to switch lanes suddenly as we were on the right lane of the PIE and we could have caused a pile-up.
"While coming to a halt, I wondered if our cars had had any physical contact, which would have been the most legitimate reason for stopping in the middle of PIE.
"But neither car had a scratch on it.
"And then, to my biggest surprise, Pierre Png stepped out of the beautiful Mercedes and walked angrily towards me.
"He seemed really furious and looked ready to throw a punch.
"I refused to get out of my car or even wind down my window and merely gestured for him to return to his car.
"All this time, cars were going by honking at us.
"After putting up with this nonsense, I finally whipped out my iPhone and took a photo of him.
"He also went to his car and took out his phone to take photos of my license plate, but I didn't mind since it was obviously his fault.
"We drove off after that.
"I understand that this was a very small matter which was blown out of proportion by his behaviour.
"I would like him to learn a valuable lesson that he cannot act rashly and endanger people's lives over a small issue just because he is a celebrity."
From Asiaone, "Celeb actor Pierre Png stops car on PIE to confront driver".
