Road-rage Ferrari driver admits to blocking traffic on Orchard Road

SINGAPORE — A 73-year-old Ferrari driver previously convicted of road rage pleaded guilty on Monday (July 16) to blocking two lanes of Orchard Road with her car one day during the evening peak period in 2016.

Another charge of verbally harassing a bus driver after she obstructed him on the road during the same incident will be considered for sentencing, which was adjourned to a later date.

Shi Ka Yee faces six more unrelated charges, including for drink driving and failing to provide a specimen of her breath without a reasonable excuse in February last year. The director of two companies, including design consulting firm Bedmar & Shi which she co-founded, also faces charges relating to a 2015 dispute with her neighbour over a raintree that grew from her home in Astrid Hill.

Defence lawyer Senior Counsel N Sreenivasan told the court on Monday that she intends to plead guilty to these remaining charges. A pre-trial conference has been set for July 26.

Earlier in March, Shi was given four weeks' jail and disqualified from driving for six months after being convicted last year after a two-day trial for road rage.

She is out on S$16,000 bail, pending an appeal against her conviction and sentence for punching 40-year-old Raphael Chong Yen Ping after an altercation along Telok Ayer Street on Feb 25, 2014.

On Monday, the court heard that the 2016 incident took place on June 29. She had stopped her red Ferrari between the third and fourth lanes of Orchard Road, just after the Claymore Road junction.

At about 5.20pm, private bus driver — 41-year-old Xu Xiaokui — was ferrying about 20 passengers from Scotts Road to Depot Road. He drove behind Shi's car on the Claymore Road stretch towards Orchard Road.

Shi was driving "at a very slow speed", even though the traffic was clear, Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) Wong Kok Weng told the court. Mr Xu had to travel at 5km/h as a result.

The bus driver then sounded his horn twice to alert her, and continued following behind when she began turning left at the T-junction between Claymore Road and Orchard Road.

But instead of completing her turn, Shi suddenly stopped her Ferrari in the middle of Orchard Road, occupying the third and fourth lanes. Mr Xu was unable to complete the turn or move forward, subsequently getting stuck across the third, fourth and fifth lanes.

"There was no obstruction in front of the accused's car when she stopped, and she had no reason to stop her car in the middle of Orchard Road," said DPP Wong.

Mr Xu sounded his horn again. At that point, Shi got out of her car, approached him and began shouting loudly.

Among other things, she told him that she should return to China if he wanted to sound his vehicle horn.

Mr Xu asked her to move her car to the side of the road so she would not obstruct traffic, but she did not do so. A long traffic jam had started to form from the T-junction all the way to the junction of Orange Grove Road and Tanglin Road.

When police officers arrived at the scene, Shi's car was still parked on the road and she was sitting inside. They advised her to move her car, but she said she did not want to the bus to leave as she was calling the police to report Mr Xu's behaviour.

Eventually, she complied and drove off.

For causing her vehicle to remain at rest on a road in a position likely to cause obstruction to other road users, Shi can be jailed up to three months or fined up to S$1,000.