Friday November 11, 2005
Letter from Lawrence Seow Kuan Yong
Did you know that if you run afoul of the three-quarter tank petrol
rule when crossing the causeway into Johor, and refuse to pay the
$50 composition fine offered to first-time offenders because you
want to appeal your case in court, you may be treated like a
criminal?
The officers make you wait a long while before they explain the
charge. Photographs of your car and fuel tank gauge are taken. You
are handcuffed and escorted to Clementi Police Station, where your
DNA sample, photograph and fingerprints are taken.
If the $5,000 bail is made, you are permitted to go home;
otherwise, you will spend the night in jail. Either way, you will
appear in court the following day. All this, for not filling up
your fuel tank to the three-quarter mark.
This happened to me last month. I am a first-time offender and I do
not deny my mistake. The authorities could have simply asked the
first-time offender to appear in court the following day, without
the indignity of going through all the above. They already had all
my details. There was no way for a person in my situation to
run.
I wrote to Singapore Customs, and was informed that under the law,
if an offender chooses not to accept the offer of a composition (an
out of court settlement), then procedurally, he must be charged in
court. This would involve arrest, statements, handcuffs, a visit to
the police station, etc.
But my question is: Why treat a citizen like a criminal for such a
minor offence?
Source:
http://www.todayonline.com/articles/83645print.asp
