Merc driver and parents allegedly gang up on Stomper in carpark dispute, make child cry and call her ‘bad mother’
A motorist alleged that a Mercedes-Benz driver and his parents ganged up on her and her four-year-old son in a carpark dispute on April 20.
Stomper JK said she was traumatised by the incident that took place in the i12 Katong carpark at about 4.10pm.
The incident occurred when she was trying to park her car, but another vehicle was blocking the lot. “Hence, I moved a short distance against traffic in an empty lane to position my car to park safely,” recounted the Stomper.
She said the Mercedes driver was trying to leave the carpark, but she was in his way. “He didn’t want to wait while I parked,” said JK.
“He had driven up so close to me that I had to do seven to eight three-point turns to park. He got angry that I was too slow and honked his horn.
“When I responded briefly with my horn and waved to ask him to reverse to give me space to move my vehicle, he escalated by shouting, exiting his vehicle and challenging me to step out.”
The driver “very angrily” accused her of parking illegally, said the Stomper, who acknowledged that she should not have gone against the flow of traffic, calling it a “poor judgment call” on her part.
“That said, there was another car blocking the lot, which made it impossible to access the space normally,” she explained. “I’m not denying that it wasn’t the correct way to park.”
Stomper felt harassed and intimidated
However, JK felt it did not justify her “traumatic” experience with the Mercedes driver.
“His middle-aged parents also exited the car and egged him on. All three surrounded my vehicle, shouted and banged on my windows,” she alleged.
““They kept insisting I should come out of my vehicle. When I pleaded with them to stop as my young son was alone in the car, they refused.
“The mother reached into my car, gesturing and accusing me of illegal parking. My son was crying uncontrollably. They mocked us, filmed us and called me a bad mother.”
The Stomper said it was no longer a misunderstanding but “harassment and intimidation”. Feeling threatened, she called the police. The trio stopped only when a security officer from the mall intervened and assisted her.
JK said: ”They went away laughing while I hugged my crying child and cried too.”
However, what “deeply disturbed” her was that the young Mercedes driver was wearing a T-shirt from the Singapore Management University (SMU).
Having graduated from SMU in 2004, the Stomper lamented that the behaviour of the person in SMU-branded attire reflected directly on the institution.
“This kind of conduct, particularly towards a woman alone with a young child, should have no place in the SMU community,” she said.
“They may claim that I was parking improperly or that I responded sharply. I accept my part, but escalation to that level of aggression is not something I can agree is ‘both sides at fault’.
“These people are a shame to society.”
In response to a Stomp query, the police confirmed a report was lodged.
Stomp has reached out to SMU for more information.
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