Jail, fine for Bentley driver who threatened to run down security officer at Red Swastika School

Nadine Chua
The Straits Times
Oct 19, 2022

The driver of the Bentley who had threatened to run down a 62-year-old security guard outside Red Swastika School was jailed for eight weeks on Wednesday and fined $600.

Neo Hong Chye, 61, was also disqualified from holding all classes of driving licences for 12 months.

Neo pleaded guilty on Wednesday to one count of causing hurt by performing a rash act, which accounts for his jail term, and another count of driving the vehicle without insurance coverage.

Neo had arrived outside the school in a Bentley and was stopped from entering the premises by a security guard.

But he inched the car forward even when the guard stood in front of the vehicle, injuring him.

Neo pleaded guilty on Wednesday to one count of causing hurt by performing a rash act and another count of driving the vehicle without insurance coverage.

Neo, who appeared in court in a floral shirt, remained quiet and stood with head bowed as the facts were read out to him.

The incident on Jan 11 was captured on video and it showed Neo in a white Bentley

The video showed him inching the car forward a few times, pushing the security guard back despite being stopped from entering the primary school in Bedok. 

He was arrested that same day and the police said that the guard suffered minor injuries following the incident.

The accused’s son, Glynn Neo Jia, 28, was charged in May with one count each of altering the licence plate number of the Bentley and allowing his father to use the car without insurance coverage.

He was the owner of the Bentley at the time and allegedly allowed his father to drive the car at around 6.30am on the day of the incident.

The court heard that the younger Neo altered the licence plate of the car for “photoshoot purposes”.

His case is still pending.

An online search of Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (Acra) revealed that the older Neo is the owner of Jia Xiu Contractors, a company involved in building construction.

He is also a director at two other companies - Aquatemp and JXC.

An Acra search also revealed that Glynn Neo is a director at JXC Logistics and Neo Times, which deals with used cars.

For causing hurt by committing a rash act, an offender can be jailed for up to a year, fined up to $5,000, or both.

For using a car without insurance coverage, an offender can be jailed for up to three months, fined up to $1,000, or both. He or she can also be disqualified from driving all classes of vehicles for a year.