SINGAPORE, March 13 — A Singaporean motorcyclist who bit off part of a man’s ear during a road rage confrontation on an expressway shoulder has been sentenced to 20 months in jail and three strokes of the cane, according to CNA.

Ronald Koh, 36, was also disqualified from holding or obtaining any driving licence for 12 months after his release following the violent incident on the Pan Island Expressway.

The attack occurred on February 26, 2024, at about 2pm on the left road shoulder of the expressway heading towards Changi after the Sims Way exit.

The court heard that Quak Beng Gim had been driving with his son, Fabian Quak Wei Quan, seated in the front passenger seat when Koh signalled for them to stop. All parties then pulled over onto the shoulder of the road.

A scuffle broke out between Koh and the younger Quak, who is in his 20s. During the altercation, Fabian told his father that Koh had bitten his ear, prompting the pair to search the road for the severed piece.

During the trial, Koh represented himself and denied responsibility, claiming the two men were lying and had attacked him instead. He insisted he could not have bitten off Fabian’s ear and suggested the injury might have been caused by the older Quak.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Dillon Kok sought two years’ jail, three strokes of the cane and a one-year driving ban, stressing the seriousness of the injuries.

The victim had to undergo surgery to reattach the severed portion of his ear, but the prosecution said “there was a 50 to 60 per cent loss of the piece of amputated ear, resulting in permanent cosmetic disfiguration.”

The Singapore-based media organisation reported that Koh also faces four other charges linked to three additional road rage incidents.

When asked to mitigate his sentence, Koh repeated his claims from trial, telling the court he was simply carrying out his delivery job and that the Quaks were “a danger to my path.”

He also invoked the right to private defence, though the judge reminded him the court had already rejected that argument.

Koh further called for a retrial, alleging the Quaks had lied in court and saying the injuries were “their own doing”, adding there was no proof he had caused them.

In delivering the sentence, District Judge Lim Tse Haw said the assault had left lasting harm.

Broken bones could heal, he said, but Fabian had “a piece of his left ear measuring 3.5cm by 1.5cm bitten off.”

Although the severed portion was surgically reattached, the judge said the injury left permanent cosmetic disfigurement.

“He continues to experience intermittent pain around his left ear and loss of sensation in the reattached part of his ear,” Judge Lim noted.

Describing the attack as “particularly vicious and barbaric”, the judge agreed that caning was warranted.

The court also noted that Koh had already been under investigation for another road rage incident involving hurt at the time of the attack.

The driving ban, Judge Lim said, was imposed to safeguard other road users.