YOU don't see many women "drifting" their cars. After all, who in their right mind (except perhaps testosterone-charged men) would want to skid their cars on purpose and wear out their tyres?

So people did a double take when petite Cheah Kah Jane stood up, walked to her car, an old 2.5-litre Nissan Laurel, and flaunted her impressive drifting skills yesterday.

There were gasps as she blazed out of the starting line and deftly negotiated every high-speed turn with precision.

The smell of rubber burning from screeching tyres and the smoke did not dampen the spirts of appreciative spectators who cheered every manoeuvre and slide.

This was no illegal show. Ms Cheah was one of the drifters invited by the police to perform at the Police Week Carnival 2007 yesterday.

This event recognises the contributions of the police officers and allows the public to interact with them.

The three-day carnival, which ends tomorrow, is at the Old Police Academy along Thomson Road.

Ms Cheah, 30, was the only woman among the 10 drifters.

Drifting is not easy to master. Some have dubbed it the art of being able to control a car when it's supposed to be out of control. It happens when the rear of your car skids before the front when taking corners. There's a technique to sustain it for long.

But before you try it out, do note it is an offence to drive a vehicle on the road recklessly.

Ms Cheah, a sales executive from Malaysia, has been active on the drifting circuit for the past one-and-a-half years.

She said: "I've always been interested in motor sports. And drifting is one of the most accessible motor sports to get into because you don't need a lot of money to get started. Your skill and technique is more important than how good your car is."

She bought the 18-year-old car for RM$20,000 ($8,900) about two years ago and spent another RM$10,000 modifying it.