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A Singaporean driver was fined RM8,000 (S$2,600) yesterday for switching his car's licence plates in May.
Tan Hock Lai, 44, pleaded guilty in a court in Johor Baru. He was seen changing the licence plate on his BMW 320i at a fuel station in Gelang Patah, about a 10-minute drive from Tuas Checkpoint, at about 7.30am on May 18.
He switched from his original licence plate SLX27E to a yellow one showing SKD2777C, which was registered to a Hyundai Elantra.
The incident was filmed by another Singaporean driver, who posted screenshots of the video on Facebook the same day. Facebook group SG Road Vigilante also shared the post, along with a screengrab of Malaysian government portal.
It showed that the yellow plate had two outstanding summonses for speeding, at RM150 each. One of the summonses was issued in July 2017, while the other was issued on the day of the plate-switching, at 8.24am.
Tan was caught speeding on a Malaysian highway barely an hour after switching the plates, but the summons was issued to the Hyundai instead.
In Parliament yesterday, MP Darryl David (Ang Mo Kio GRC) asked what actions can be taken against Singaporeans who change their car licence plates in Malaysia,
especially when their actions have adverse effects on other Singaporean drivers whose licence plates have been copied.
In a written response, Transport Minister Khaw Boon Wan said that whether the swapping of licence plates outside Singapore is an offence depends on the facts of the case.
"We would be happy to share information, to the extent permitted by our laws, with our foreign counterparts to assist with investigations...," he said.
The penalty for displaying a forged number plate in Singapore is a fine of up to $5,000, jail of up to a year, or both.
