Actress Rui En allegedly involved in another accident earlier this year

It's not the first time local actress Rui En has been involved in an accident this year.

According to Lianhe Zaobao, the 35-year-old was also involved in another incident where she reportedly knocked her white BMW into a vehicle along Lornie Road. The incident happened on January 6 at 6.20am, reported Lianhe Wanbao.

The owner of the vehicle had to track her down using social media by posting Rui En's car license plate number online. The actress then reached the owner of the hit car and made a private settlement, reported the Chinese daily.

A Stomp reader also submitted a video of the accident to the citizen journalism website on January 8. A white BMW is seen brushing along the right side of the vehicle, before speeding away.

The incident has been confirmed by Rui En's manager. Her manager declined to comment further but denied that she had run away after the accident earlier this year. The manager claims Rui En wasn't aware of the incident and only found out about it after a car workshop mechanic pointed it out, reported Lianhe Wanbao. According to reports, the incident was "resolved satisfactorily".

The Chinese daily added that her certificate of entitlement had run out and she bought a new car after that accident.

In a Lianhe Wanbao report on Wednesday, Rui En was accused of drink-driving and knocking down a parked motorcycle at a Clementi Avenue 2 carpark on Tuesday afternoon.

According to the Chinese daily, the actress was given a breathalyser test and is now assisting police with investigations.

Her management, Hype Records, said in a statement that the incident happened at around 4.10pm when she was returning home and driving into the car park located at her block.

"Due to some misjudgement, she accidentally knocked over a stationary motorcycle. No other driver and no one was hit or involved in the incident," said the statement.

Mr Bahrom Sarmiten, the 52-year-old owner of the motorcycle, reportedly told Wanbao that he was walking to the carpark when he heard a loud sound. He then saw that his motorcycle had been hit by a black BMW, which appeared to be out of control and was driven onto a kerb.

Instead of stopping to check on the situation, the driver of the BMW reversed back onto the road and continued to drive on, he told Wanbao.

Seeing this, he knocked on the car window and told the female driver to stop but according to him, she continued to drive forward. She stopped the vehicle after Mr Bahrom knocked on her window repeatedly, and only stepped out of it after putting on a pair of sunglasses.

According to Mr Bahrom, the driver smelled of alcohol and the first thing she asked was: "Do you know who I am?"

However, he did not know who she was and only found out she was a celebrity after a passer-by told him so.

Hype Records said in their statement Rui En had wanted to park her car "to avoid any congestion from oncoming traffic" before addressing the matter but she was stopped by the owner.

"The car park is where she parks her vehicle everyday over many years and she had no intentions of ignoring or even running away from her responsibility.

"Understandably, the owner of the motorcycle was upset and unfortunately, her intentions to position her vehicle in a safe area were mistaken", added the statement.

Mr Bahrom also claims that Rui En offered to settle the matter with him privately and offered him $2,000 to compensate for his three-month-old bike. When Mr Bahrom rejected the offer, the actress allegedly asked: "I'm giving you $2,000 and it's not enough? It's cash, you know?"

He told her that if she offered him $6,000, enough to make a down payment on a new motorcycle, he would consider letting the matter rest. But the actress did not respond to this and got an elder man to speak to him over the phone instead.

"If she spoke more humbly, I might have been able to accept it. But she was not sincere at all," Mr Bahrom told Wanbao.

He told the Chinese daily that when the police arrived, Rui En walked back to her car and locked herself in. She eventually stepped out of the car and is believed to have told officers that she only had one glass of alcohol earlier.

Media reports said the police confirmed an accident involving a car and a stationary motorcycle at around 4.16pm at Block 331, Clementi Avenue 2 was reported, and that a 35-year-old female driver is assisting with investigations.

Hype Records said in its statement that they "sincerely apologise for any inconveniences caused" in the "unfortunate accident".

The actress is nominated for the Best Actress award at the upcoming Star Awards on Sunday and her management has said that she will attend the awards night.

ljessica@sph.com.sg

spanaech@sph.com.sg