Singaporeans get into heated row with Malaysian over scratched car in Johor Bahru, accuse him of extorting money

For a group of Singaporeans, a weekend drive into Johor Bahru turned quite unpleasant when another driver accused them of scratching his car. 

He also allegedly tried to extort money from the group. 

Singaporean Natalie*, who is in her 20s, told AsiaOne that she and her friends had rented a car from another friend to drive into Malaysia on June 3. 

The group visited a popular eatery called Nimmies Pastry Cafe near KSL City Mall and parked their vehicle outside the cafe. 

Two hours later, they left the cafe to head off to their next destination. However, they had a hard time getting out of the lot as the carpark was narrow. 

While they were trying to slowly reverse out of the lot, they realised that a Malaysian car was getting too close to them.

Suddenly, the driver of that car got out of his vehicle and told the group that they had scratched his car. 

This led to a heated confrontation between the two parties, leaving Natalie feeling "shocked and annoyed", she told AsiaOne. 

Her friends also asked the driver for proof but he was unable to provide any. 

On their end, their dash cam was not working. However, one of Natalie's friends had taken pictures of their own vehicle prior to the incident, and it looked like nothing was amiss. 

"There was nothing that could prove that we damaged his car," she shared. 

Despite this, the driver kept insisting that the group had scratched his car and even asked them to pay him for the damages. 

"It was so obvious that he was extorting money while trying to sound nice," Natalie said. 

Police report made 

While Natalie's friend was still trying to negotiate with the Malaysian driver, she called the police. 

Some 20 minutes afterwards, two policemen arrived and examined both vehicles. 

However, Natalie said they only took down her friend's particulars and not the Malaysian driver's.

They were then asked to go to a police station to lodge a report.

There, the group and the Malaysian driver filled up their particulars form and went to separate rooms to talk to investigation officers. 

"Thankfully, the investigation officer was more professional and we [did] not pay anything, everything else was left to both drivers' insurance companies," said Natalie. 

Accident in Malaysia: What to do as a driver

Planning on driving into Malaysia? Do check your vehicle's insurance before making the trip as some insurance coverage may not be as comprehensive overseas as compared to home, suggested Singapore Legal Advice. 

Apart from that, it is helpful to store your insurer's emergency hotline on your phone as well as ensure that your roaming services can be activated, just in case you need to get a tow truck to tow away your car. 

Claims-wise, it is very similar to Singapore. 

All necessary documents and the police report made should be submitted to your insurer within 24 hours of the accident. This is unless you were injured in the accident. 

But one difference is that drivers need to provide photo evidence of the road tax disc of the Malaysian vehicle involved as proof of the accident. 

When you get back to Singapore, you need to file an accident report as per the General Insurance Association of Singapore’s requirement. 

If you require further assistance, you may want to approach the General Insurance Association (GIA) of Singapore, or its Malaysian counterpart, Persatuan Insuran Am Malaysia (PIAM) for help. 

Additionally, do remember to take evidence such as photographs of the accident scene, the time and place of the accident as well as the driver's car plate number, contact number and identification details. 

*Name has been changed 

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melissateo@asiaone.com

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