Car-plate switcheroo in Johor: LTA investigating driver of Singapore-registered BMW
SINGAPORE — The Land Transport Authority (LTA) is investigating after a driver of a Singapore-registered BMW was caught on camera changing his car’s licence plates at a petrol station in Johor.
SINGAPORE — The Land Transport Authority (LTA) is investigating the case of a driver caught on camera changing the licence plates of his Singapore-registered BMW in Johor, Malaysia.
Photos of the May 18 incident at a petrol station in Johor, taken by a member of the public, went viral on social media.
The driver of the BMW 302i was seen switching the plates while waiting for his car’s tank to be filled at a Petron station in Gelang Patah, about a 10-minute drive from Tuas Checkpoint.
A series of photos posted in the Facebook group SG Road Vigilante show a man replacing the licence plate, SLX27E, to one bearing the registration number SKD2777C.
A screenshot of LTA’s One Motoring website was also posted, showing that the second car plate number belonged to a Hyundai Elantra.
The owner of the Hyundai has filed a report with LTA, the authority added.
Another screenshot, supposedly from Malaysian government portal myeg.com.my, indicates that the BMW was possibly caught speeding on a Malaysian highway about an hour after switching the plates.
The screenshot showed two outstanding summonses issued to the Hyundai — one in July 2017 and another on the day of the plate-switching incident.
Johor's police deputy chief Mohd Kamaruddin Md Din, told Singapore daily The Straits Times that he has not come across any case of Singaporeans changing their vehicle number plates in Malaysia.
"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," he reportedly said.
Using a false car plate is against the law in Singapore. Those caught displaying false registration plates can be jailed up to a year, or fined up to S$5,000.