—(1) Subject to the provisions of this Act, it shall not be lawful for any person to use or to cause or permit any other person to use —
a motor vehicle in Singapore; or
a motor vehicle which is registered in Singapore in any territory specified in the Schedule,
unless there is in force in relation to the use of the motor vehicle by that person or that other person, as the case may be, such a policy of insurance or such a security in respect of third-party risks as complies with the requirements of this Act.
(2) If a person acts in contravention of this section, he shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $1,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 months or to both.
(3) A person convicted of an offence under this section shall (unless the court for special reasons thinks fit to order otherwise and without prejudice to the power of the court to order a longer period of disqualification) be disqualified for holding or obtaining a driving licence under the Road Traffic Act (Cap. 276) for a period of 12 months from the date of the conviction.
(4) A person shall not be guilty of an offence under this section if he proves —
that the motor vehicle did not belong to him and was not in his possession under a contract of hiring or loan;
that he was using the vehicle in the course of his employment; and
that he neither knew nor had reason to believe that there was not in force in relation to such user a policy of insurance or such security as complies with the provisions of this Act.
(5) A person disqualified by virtue of a conviction under this section or of an order made thereunder for holding or obtaining a driving licence shall for the purposes of Part II of the Road Traffic Act be deemed to be disqualified by virtue of a conviction under the provisions of that Part.
(6) Notwithstanding any Act prescribing a time within which proceedings may be brought before a court, proceedings for an offence under this section may be brought —
within a period of 6 months from the date of the commission of the alleged offence; or
within a period which exceeds neither 3 months from the date on which it came to the knowledge of the prosecutor that the offence had been committed nor one year from the date of the commission of the offence,
whichever period is the longer.
(7) This section shall not apply —
to a vehicle owned by —
the government of Malaysia or of any State thereof; or
any visiting forces lawfully present in Singapore,
on any occasion upon which the vehicle is being used by any person authorised by any of such governments or by any such forces, as the case may require, to use the vehicle on such occasion;
to a vehicle owned by a person who has deposited and keeps deposited with the Accountant-General the sum of $125,000 at any time when the vehicle is being driven by the owner or by an employee of the owner in the course of his employment or is otherwise subject to the control of the owner; or
to any vehicle at any time when it is being driven for police purposes by or under the direction of —
a police officer or by a person employed by the Deputy Commissioner of Police; or
the Registrar or a person authorised by him to drive such vehicle.
(8) This section shall not extend to invalid carriages.