The 300 motorists who got away with $300,000 of free parking
Wed, Jan 31, 2007
AsiaOne
Police are investigating how more than 300 motorists got away with free parking in seven carparks in the city area last year, for which the operator could have collected some $300,000 from them.
CapitaCommercial Trust's (CCT), which operates the carparks, only discovered this when it noticed that several cars which had entered its carparks were not recorded as having left, said a report in The Straits Times today.
CCT has reported this to police.
CCT suspects that some of the following methods could have been exploited by the motorists to evade parking charges.
- An electronic device could be sending signals to the carpark scanner and fool it into believing that the necessary payment has been deducted.
- Motorists could be tampering with their CashCards or the radio-frequency system used by automated gantries to identify each vehicle via the in-vehicle unit (IU).
- Motorists could have resorted to tail-gating. By sticking closely to the vehicle leaving the carpark, the built-in sensors which controls the barrier, would not be able to detect it.
CCT has so far recovered $150,000 from the errant motorists who did not protest when confronted with details of their entry and exit times. Those who refused to pay up have been referred to the police.
If you are thinking of getting free parking this way, you had better not return to the same carpark. Ever.
Cars that are logged as having left without payment will be recognised by their in-vehicle unit (IU) numbers. Re-entering the scene of crime will result in "red flags" being raised, and the errant driver can have his car wheels clamped.
Wed, Jan 31, 2007
AsiaOne
Police are investigating how more than 300 motorists got away with free parking in seven carparks in the city area last year, for which the operator could have collected some $300,000 from them.
CapitaCommercial Trust's (CCT), which operates the carparks, only discovered this when it noticed that several cars which had entered its carparks were not recorded as having left, said a report in The Straits Times today.
CCT has reported this to police.
CCT suspects that some of the following methods could have been exploited by the motorists to evade parking charges.
- An electronic device could be sending signals to the carpark scanner and fool it into believing that the necessary payment has been deducted.
- Motorists could be tampering with their CashCards or the radio-frequency system used by automated gantries to identify each vehicle via the in-vehicle unit (IU).
- Motorists could have resorted to tail-gating. By sticking closely to the vehicle leaving the carpark, the built-in sensors which controls the barrier, would not be able to detect it.
CCT has so far recovered $150,000 from the errant motorists who did not protest when confronted with details of their entry and exit times. Those who refused to pay up have been referred to the police.
If you are thinking of getting free parking this way, you had better not return to the same carpark. Ever.
Cars that are logged as having left without payment will be recognised by their in-vehicle unit (IU) numbers. Re-entering the scene of crime will result in "red flags" being raised, and the errant driver can have his car wheels clamped.
