'I had a feeling he wanted to kill us'

UberEats rider Muhammad Fazly, 29, and his fiancee Siti Farina, 27, could have lost their lives on Wednesday, if it was not for his 10-year motorcycle riding experience and, yes, the heavy rain.

"Thanks to the bad weather, all the cars on the AYE (Ayer Rajah Expressway) were travelling slower than usual. I think they were going at 40 to 50 kmh," he told The New Paper.

Mr Fazly's bike was allegedly deliberately knocked down by a Toyota Camry, with the license plate SKA1713J that day.

It sped away soon after.

Mr Fazly, who hurt his right leg, said: "The bruise has spread down to the ankle and I still have difficulty walking."

His fiancee suffered abrasions on her right arm.

Related: Police investigating car which slammed into motorbike

The incident, near the Clementi Road exit, was caught on several in-vehicle cameras, but came to light only when a video was uploaded on Facebook by user Zufar Khan Ismail Khan on Thursday.

He was driving a yellow van when his camera caught the final moments of the incident as the Camry pulled up alongside and then slammed into the side of the motorcycle.

The impact knocked both Mr Fazly and Ms Siti to the ground.

The video caught the Camry speeding away afterwards.

The clip went viral, racking up about 150,000 views and over 6,000 shares. It was then posted on Facebook community pages Roads.sg and Beh Chia Lor.

The 63-year-old driver was arrested on Friday "for a rash act causing hurt", said a police spokesman. Mr Fazly said that "the clash actually started much earlier than where it was captured".

"I was about to enter the AYE from Jurong Town Hall Road... when the Camry came out of nowhere and tried to squeeze into my lane, nearly hitting my handlebar," he recalled.

Mr Fazly got the driver's hackles up when he honked at him several times and tapped his window.

"At first, he didn't look at me and when I tapped his window, he turned and looked aggressively at the both of us," he said.

"When the lights turned green, the Camry kept trying to swerve into us. He did it about four to five times, pushing us into the traffic. I had a feeling he wanted to kill us."

He added that drivers of other cars seemed to have slowed down somewhat, watching the incident unfold.

"A cabby managed to capture the whole thing from the start to the finish on his camera. I think the police took that... When we fell and the Camry sped off, the other drivers came to help," he said.

Mr Fazly said he was informed by the investigating officer that the driver of the Camry denied everything after his arrest.

"How could he deny it when everything he did was captured on video?" he asked.

The Toyota Camry has also previously been captured on video moving in a reckless manner.

Online footage posted on YouTube in 2014 and last yearshowed what appeared to be the same car dangerously changing lanes on the expressway.

Mr Fazly said: "Such people should be banned from driving. Can you imagine if I was a newbie on the roads?

"I wouldn't have been able to control my bike and the outcome would have been worse."

He added that his bike was taken to the Health Sciences Authority for testing.

TNP understands that the Camry has been impounded.

Police investigations are ongoing.

juditht@sph.com.sg

This article was first published on June 21, 2016.
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