JOHOR BARU: A 35-year-old man was arrested by police during a traffic operation held near Pandan last night for dodging payment on 78 traffic summonses he had accumulated over the past 13 years.
State Traffic Enforcement and Investigation Department (TEID) chief Superintendent Razak Md Said said most of the summonses were for parking offences.
He said the man, however, was released the same night after police had recorded his statement and reminded him to start making payments on the outstanding summonses or face legal repercussions, including having his name blacklisted on police records.
“The man was released as he promised to settle all his outstanding summonses soon and needed time to raise money for the payment... so, we offered to let him settle the outstanding sum on staggered, scheduled payments,” he said.
Razak said police understand that some people were strapped down by financial difficulties and tended to delay on paying their summonses, but it was still their responsibility to settle up as promptly as possible to avoid facing heavier penalties.
“It is an offence under the Road Transport Act 1987 for motorists to default paying their traffic summonses,” he said.
Razak said, for those having trouble paying up, they should approach TEID for alternative ways on how they can arrange for the scheduled payment option if they were unable to settle the summonses in full.
On last night’s three-hour operation, jointly held with various agencies including the Road Transport Department (RTD) and Department of Environment (DoE), he said more than 600 vehicles were checked and 244 summonses issued for various road offences.
“Police issued 156 summonses for illegal vehicle modification while RTD issued 75 summonses for tampering of vehicle parts. DoE issued 13 summonses to lorry drivers as their vehicles were above the limit for noise,” he said.
Razak said similar joint enforcement operations under the National Blue Ocean Strategy will be carried out from time to time in the future so as to ensure motorists in the state abided by the road rules and regulations at all times.