HE thought the man walking towards him wanted to let him have his parking lot.
He even rolled down his window to thank him.
So Mr Tan Yen Ming was taken aback when the man demanded money from him, alleging that he had damaged his taxi.
Mr Tan, 34, was certain he had not collided with the taxi, or for that matter, any vehicle that day.
The general manager of a medical supplies company had driven to Teck Whye Avenue in his multi-purpose van to buy groceries around 7.45pm on Monday.
His wife alighted in the open carpark near Block 145.
There were no vacant lots, so MrTan made a three-point turn and waited in front of the parked cars.
That was when he saw the man, who was wearing a white long-sleeved striped shirt and dark pants, walking towards him from a coffee shop nearby.
'I thought he was leaving and wanted to let me have his parking lot, so I rolled down my window to tell him I didn't need the lot and to thank him,' said Mr Tan.
But the man allegedly told him: 'You knocked my car, you must compensate me.'
He then pointed out his vehicle to Mr Tan. It was a white SMRT taxi.
'It was not possible that I had knocked his car because my car is equipped with reverse sensors and I have an LCD screen which switches on when I reverse to allow me to see what is behind,' said Mr Tan.
But the man insisted that Mr Tan had damaged the front of his taxi.
So Mr Tan got out of his car and checked the taxi and his own vehicle.
'I did not see any damage at all, and asked him to point out the damage to me, but he was unable to do so,' he claimed.
'He just kept insisting that I have to pay him money. He also did not want to look at my van or take any pictures of the supposed damage to his cab.'
Mr Tan told him that they should report the matter to the taxi company and, if necessary, settle through insurance claims. But, according to him, the man refused.
'I found it strange that he did not want to report the matter to the taxi company,' said Mr Tan.
'He claimed he saw me knock his car, but when I asked him which part of his car, he kept quiet. He just kept asking for money,' claimed Mr Tan.
Mr Tan finally called the police.
He took pictures of the cab.
And he called SMRT Taxis to report the matter.
Mr Tan said the man also made and received several calls during the incident, which lasted half an hour.
Finally the man said he wanted to leave, and asked Mr Tan for his particulars.
'I refused to give him my particulars as I had already called SMRT Taxis to inform them of the incident, though I had not knocked his car at all,' said Mr Tan.
'I didn't want to risk giving him my particulars because he only kept demanding for money, and was not interested in assessing the damage he claimed I had made to his car.'
'RIDICULOUS'
The next day, Mr Tan went to his insurance company to lodge a report and to confirm that there was no damage to his car.
He showed The New Paper a copy of the report which indicated that there was no visible damage to his car.
'It was ridiculous and it took up my time to report that I did not have an accident, but I wanted an independent assessment of my car in case he tries to make an insurance claim,' said MrTan.
The police confirmed that Mr Tan had made a report.
An SMRT spokesman said the company is investigating the incident and working closely with the relevant parties involved.
