Pay those traffic fines, or you could be barred from leaving Malaysia

Pay those traffic fines, or you could be barred from leaving Malaysia
The Singapore-Malaysia land border.
PHOTO: PHOTO: Reuters

Living in what some has dubbed 'The Fine City', Singaporeans are generally quite a law-abiding bunch – until they cross the Causeway. 

Just consider these numbers - out of 143,427 traffic summons issued to Singaporeans since 2016, a staggering 75 per cent or 108,757 summons are still unsettled, said Bukit Aman Traffic Investigation and Enforcement Department director Datuk Mat Kasim Karim on Thursday (April 7).

The bad news is, if you have outstanding summons in Malaysia, you may be stopped from leaving its borders, reported Malaysia news publication Berita Harian.

If the traffic offender has outstanding summons and an arrest warrant issued against him, the police will arrest this traffic offender and charge him in court immediately, said Mat Kasim. 

"If charged on the same day, the traffic offender will be arrested if they cannot produce a Malaysian bailer, before being charged the next day," he added. 

He also highlighted that the most common traffic offence committed by Singaporeans is driving past the speed limit, followed by cutting queues, ignoring traffic signs and not wearing helmets, reported Malaysian newspaper Sinar Harian.

Separately, the Johor police has come forward to say that they have always been firm when enforcing traffic laws, said Johor Traffic Enforcement and Investigation Department chief Supt M. Kumarasan.

He explained that his forces do not practice favouritism towards anyone who has clearly committed an offence, reported Harian Metro.

"Regarding Singaporean vehicles driving recklessly, there is no denying that there have been incidents before and action has been taken," he said.

Kumarasan was commenting on a video of Singapore-registered vehicles speeding and driving recklessly at the Felda Gugusan Adela traffic light junction from Sungai Rengit heading to Bandar Penawar last Sunday.

It's been a week since land borders opened and Singaporean road users are already misbehaving in Malaysia.

Should you be planning on a trip across the border, it might be worthwhile to double-check your outstanding summons and pay up.

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amierul@asiaone.com

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