SINGAPORE: Authorities in Singapore recently recovered over $460,000 from 188 foreign motorists from a multi-agency operation earlier this month, agencies said in a joint news release.
The Traffic Police led the operation, which was held from July 1 to 3.
They were supported by officers from the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority, the Housing and Development Board, the Land Transport Authority, the National Environment Agency, and the Urban Redevelopment Authority.
In a joint statement on July 12, the agencies said that foreign motorists were stopped and directed to settle their fines for vehicular and traffic offences when they entered Singapore via Woodlands and Tuas checkpoints.
It added that authorities in Singapore carry out operations regularly against non-Singaporean motorists who commit offences in Singapore and do not settle their fines.
“Singapore takes a serious view of foreign motorists who commit offences in Singapore,” the authorities said, adding that those with outstanding fines for traffic, parking, or vehicular emissions offences may be denied entry into the city-state.
The authorities wrote that every motorist in Singapore must follow its laws and play their part in building a positive road safety culture.
These laws include adhering to speed limits, obeying traffic signals, paying ERP charges, parking charges and fines, parking legally, and driving a vehicle with allowable emissions.
“Foreign motorists are strongly advised to check if they have any outstanding fines at www.axs.com.sg. Payment of the fines can be made via the following channels:
a. AXS kiosks, AXS website and AXS mobile app;
b. Respective agencies’ websites; or
c. Respective agencies’ customer service counters,” the joint statement reads, adding that foreign motorists seeking clarifications on their offences may contact the relevant agencies directly.
Singaporeans on Reddit had quite a bit to say about the issue, with one doing the math and writing that the average foreign motorist had to pay around $2500 in fines per car, which they called “Crazy,” adding:
“I remember seeing some uproar online about how many foreign cars were allowed in with such big outstanding fines over many years. It’s nice to see some enforcement.”
Another did even more math and commented that since tickets are around S$300 each, it would mean an average of eight separate offences per motorist.
“Explains a lot of the driving behavior I see on the roads… Like rules don’t apply,” another observed. “If only such ops can be done every few months,” a Reddit user added. /TISG