MEDIACORP actor Christopher Lee never approached the motorcyclist and his pillion rider to see if they needed help after the car he was driving hit them in Little India early on Oct 8 last year.

It was only a few days later that the motorcyclist, Mr Periakaruppan Dhandapani, 37, met Lee for the first time. Both had been summoned to the Traffic Police headquarters in Ubi Avenue and they spoke briefly.

Although Lee's face would have been instantly recognisable to his fans, to Mr Dhandapani, he was just 'the driver' in the accident.

The senior software consultant told The Straits Times: "He is not known to me even though he is a celebrity. But he said he was very sorry for what had happened."

Lee's car side-swiped the Honda Phantom motorcycle at the junction of Serangoon and Kitchener roads just after 4am that day.

Yesterday, Lee was sentenced to a month's jail, fined $4,500 for drink driving and banned from driving for three years.

The 35-year-old is appealing against the jail term and is out on bail. Mr Dhandapani said he holds no grudges against Lee: "I didn?t know him and, on top of that, I didn't know what had happened at the time."

He only remembers hearing a loud bang and feeling the force of something hitting the back of his motorcycle.

He was at the time sending his friend, Mr Jeyaraman Senthil Kumar, home after they had gone to Orchard Road.

After the crash, passers-by came to their aid. Mr Dhandapani said: "I was bleeding from the mouth and my wristwatch had torn the skin off my arm. Many people were asking me questions, so I didn't get a chance to speak to my friend."

Mr Kumar was, in the mean time, whisked off to Tan Tock Seng Hospital with abrasions and a wrist fracture. A toe on his left foot was so badly damaged that it had to be amputated.

Mr Dhandapani, who refused to be taken to hospital in an ambulance, called his wife, who came in a taxi to take him home. The couple have a 12-year-old son and live in Sengkang.

When he got home, he realised that his face was badly swollen and that a part of a front tooth was chipped. He went to Changi General Hospital, where he received outpatient treatment.

For days after the accident, he had trouble sleeping and was haunted by recurring nightmares of falling off his motorcycle. He also felt chest pains for months, but they have since gone away.

Today, he still rides the same motorcycle, which cost him $300 to repair. He said: "My wife asked me to sell it, but it's still cheaper than owning a car."