A woman driver who was involved in a minor accident with a motorist inched her car forward while the man was standing in front, causing it to come into contact with his knees.

Quek Chin Fern, 43, then a private-hire car driver, was given four weeks' jail yesterday for causing hurt to Mr Jazz Tan Ti Jie, 29, by doing a rash act to endanger life along Yishun Ring Road at 8.42pm on Aug 17, 2015.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Kelly Ho said Mr Tan was driving on the rightmost lane of Yishun Ring Road that evening when Quek's Toyota Isis swerved into his lane from the left and collided into his car.

Both drivers stopped along the road, near the entrance of Yishun Junior College. Mr Tan asked Quek for her identification details, but she gave only her mobile number. He said he would call the police and asked her to wait, but Quek refused and insisted on leaving.

Mr Tan stood behind her car to prevent her from driving off. She reversed and inched it backwards, coming into contact with him though there was no mention of injuries in this instance. Mr Tan then moved to the front of her car to stop her from driving off. She inched the car forward while he was standing in front, causing the front bumper to touch his knees.

She continued doing so for about 50m until the victim stepped aside as he felt pain in his left knee and saw that his left shoe was stuck under the front right tyre of Quek's car. Quek then drove off from the scene.

Mr Tan suffered mild erythema (redness) on his left knee.

In his mitigation plea, Quek's pro bono lawyer, Mr Gino Hardial Singh, said his client had picked up her 17-year-old son from his junior college and needed to send him home and continue with her driving as she was "on the clock''.

Quek, he said, was diagnosed in 2011 with emotionally unstable personality disorder and major depressive disorder. She found sometime in 2012 that her husband had an affair. She was distraught and brought forward a breakdown of the family relationship. Her husband died in February 2013. She relapsed and was found unfit for work for six months.

The maximum penalty for committing a rash act is one year's jail and a $5,000 fine.