Judge urges legal rule review after case of convicted motorist who paid before hearing
Conviction of motorist who paid up tax before court appearance set aside
Published on Dec 27, 2014 10:35 AM
By K.C. Vijayan Senior Law Correspondent
<iframe src="//www.youtube.com/embed/N9TMsOjxBqY?rel=0&showinfo=0" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" width="560"></iframe>
A judge has called for a review of a legal provision after a motorist was convicted and fined in court for failing to pay road tax even though she had paid up before appearing in court.
Judicial Commissioner See Kee Oon set aside the conviction by a district judge and ordered the $400 fine paid by Ms Heng Tieng Yen to be refunded.
It emerged that Ms Heng had paid the overdue tax and a composition sum of $200 for the charge to be dropped, about two hours before she appeared in court where she was charged and fined last year.
But she did not tell the district judge she had already settled the tax and the Land Transport Authority (LTA) had apparently not updated its electronic records to reflect her earlier payment.
