Herman told The New Paper in Singapore that he drives to Malaysia almost weekly on business trips. That night there was a traffic jam on the highway on his way home to Singapore at 11.30pm. He was in the left-most lane and was 90km away from the Tuas Checkpoint when he heard something hitting the rear of his car. From his side mirror he saw a motorcyclist falling off his bike. Concerned, he stopped his car. All of a sudden, 10 men came towards him on motorcycles and surrounded his car. They started accusing him of causing the accident and started banging on his car.

"The rider who hit (my car) also came forward and demanded a compensation. I panicked," Herman said.

One of the men then took out a spanner and used it to smash his windscreen. Afraid, Herman then wound down his window to talk to the men. They quickly took advantage of his misstep and unlocked the car door and started beating him.

The man with the spanner hit Herman on his left eye, leaving it swollen and his vision blurry.

They tried to get him out of the car but he refused to budge. They then took all of the money from his wallet, stole the in-vehicle camera, his mobile phone and power bank, and took his laptop that he had placed in the boot.

"I'm sure the accident was staged, for after the biker fell off, he immediately asked me for compensation. The ordeal lasted about 10 minutes, but it was the longest 10 minutes of my life."

After the ordeal, Herman made a police report in Johor and in Singapore and received treatment for his eye. There is internal bleeding in the eye and his vision is blurry. "I'm very worried, as a doctor told me there's a possibility that my vision may be permanently affected after this."