A senior citizen was caught with an altered Singapore license plate to fill up on RON95 in Johor, and he is now facing the consequences.
The Kulai Magistrate’s Court has fined the 64-year-old man RM9,000 after he pleaded guilty to displaying a car registration number that did not belong to his Volkswagen Jetta.
Should he fail to pay the fine, he will be jailed for 9 months.
The act was allegedly committed at a petrol station at Batu 21/4, Jalan Johor Bahru–Air Hitam, Kulai, at approximately 10.30 PM on 2 January. The senior citizen, Long Sa Kow, is a Singapore Permanent Resident and sought leniency from the court as he does not have a permanent income.
Long was represented by National Legal Aid Foundation (YBGK) lawyer, Sharmaine Fairuz Mohd Zulkifli. During the proceedings, Long interrupted and “corrected” the interpreter who was reading the charge to argue the case details, before he was told by the Court to let the interpreter finish reading.
Long sought leniency as his income is not fixed.
According to his lawyer, Long not only supports a wife, who is a housewife, but also three children, two of whom are still in school.
“This is his first offence, and he promised not to repeat this act and will comply with the laws and regulations set by the Malaysian Government,” Sharmaine told the Court.
Deputy Public Prosecutor S. Thiviya, on the other hand, requested the court to impose a deterrent and educational sentence, with the intention to prevent Long from repeating the act. The punishment is also expected to serve as a lesson to others so that they do not commit the same mistake.
“The court can examine Long’s intention in changing and displaying his vehicle registration number to enjoy the rights of Malaysians, including obtaining subsidised RON95 fuel,” as reported by Sinar Harian and Sin Chew.
Earlier, Kulai District Police Chief ACP Tan Seng Lee stated that Long was instructed to appear immediately at the Traffic Division at the Kulai District Police Headquarters to assist with the investigation. Investigations found that Long’s car, which should have had registration number SLJ 8967 M, had covered up the letters ‘S’ and ‘M’ on the registration number to enable him to fill up with subsidised RON95 fuel.
Tan also reminded the public not to alter or try to hide vehicle registration numbers, as it is against the law.
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