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Plate-switching Singaporean BMW under investigation
Remember the photos of a Singaporean driver swapping number plates on his gold-coloured BMW in Johor from earlier this month? The case is now under investigation after the actual owner of the number plate, registered to a Hyundai Elantra in Singapore, filed a report with the authorities.
The island state's Land Transport Authority (LTA) confirmed to The Straits Times that it is looking into the matter. About an hour after switching the plates at a Petron station in Gelang Patah on the morning of May 18, the E90 3 Series was caught speeding by highway cameras.
The BMW's original license plate is SLX27E, but it was caught on camera with the plate SKD2777C. After the pics went viral that afternoon, netizens who checked on MyEG found two outstanding speeding summonses issued to the Hyundai's number plate – one from last July and another on May 18, 2019.
The summonses were no longer listed on May 20. The BMW, now wearing its original number plates, was seen heading into Singapore that same day. The images and screenshots here are from the SG Road Vigilante Facebook page.
The ST report quoted a Singaporean witness to the incident. "There were many Singapore cars at the petrol station that morning. And this driver was changing his car plate so openly. Many of us were shocked at what we saw. The (BMW) driver was so arrogant and a very bad example for Singaporeans. What if he had got into an accident in Malaysia and someone had been injured or killed? His insurer could contest his claims," he told the daily.
"This thing has gone viral. If nothing is done, people might start copying the BMW driver and change to a different vehicle number plate when driving in Malaysia," the witness added.
When contacted by ST, Johor police deputy chief Datuk Mohd Kamaruddin Md Din said that he was unaware of the practice. "So far, we don't have such cases against Singaporean drivers. If it is true, we want this irresponsible act to be stopped. We will not hesitate to take stern action."
Malaysia's Road Transport Act states that if a car is found with a number plate that does not belong to it, the offender could be fined up to RM5,000 and jailed for up to a year. The vehicle could also be seized. Tampering with car registration plates is also an offence in Singapore.
"Although the Singapore-registered car bearing a false Singapore number plate was driven outside Singapore, if as a result of the forged car number plate, another driver in Singapore is penalised for offences not committed by him, there may be enough nexus for this scenario to fall within 'exhibiting forged or imitation number plate' under the Road Traffic Act, or 'cheating' under the Penal Code," lawyer Chia Boon Teck from Singaporean law firm Chia Wong told ST.
Singapore's penalty for displaying a forged number plate is a fine of up to S$5,000 and/or jail of up to a year.
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