SINGAPORE: Police in Johor Bahru are investigating a recent incident where a Singapore-registered vehicle went against traffic and was captured in a viral video.
After a white BYD Seal was seen driving on the wrong side at Km 55 of the Senai–Desaru Expressway on Saturday (June 21) at around 11:31 am, a 12-second clip was posted on the Community Roda Johor – CRJ Facebook page.
“The white vehicle with the registration number SNT4298 was recorded driving against the traffic, endangering other road users,” Kota Tinggi police chief Supt Yusof Othman said in a statement on Sunday, according to a report from Malaysian national news agency Bernama.
Mr Yusof added that the driver of the vehicle is being investigated under Section 42(1) of the Road Transport Act 1987 for reckless and dangerous driving. He asked anyone with information regarding the incident to reach out to Traffic Enforcement Officer Insp Amirul Mustakim Mustaza at 017-479 3329 to assist in the investigation.
The police chief added, ”Police advise all road users always to stay vigilant and obey traffic laws for the safety of everyone.”
The clip posted on Facebook has since been viewed over 33,000 times. The caption on the post reads “Kereta Singapore buat hal lagi,” which implies that many Malaysians are tired of the poor driving behaviour that Singaporeans display in their country.
“The law is too weak for foreigners. Try to enforce, any foreigners who do wrong should be fined as much as possible. Can’t go back to the original country as long as the fine hasn’t been paid. Vehicle is impounded,” wrote one commenter.
“Can’t allow this car and driver to enter Malaysia again. In your own country, you obey the law, but when abroad, you become a ghost of demons,” scolded another.
Another called for the driver to be blacklisted, while one pointed out how fortunate it was that there were no motorcycles on the lane where the Singapore-registered car had been driving.
“Lock this person up,” a Facebook user wrote.
There have been a number of incidents of Singaporean motorists showing bad behaviour lately.
In a recent 26-second video taken from the dash cam of a vehicle that followed a black Mazda with a Singapore number plate, the driver of the Mazda used the shoulder—usually reserved for use as an emergency lane— in an attempt to cut the queue and overtake a red car in front of it.
In another video, a Singaporean man was caught up in a road rage incident and was accused of committing mischief by damaging a Malaysian man’s vehicle. He faced another charge of insulting the man’s modesty, since he spat into his face during the incident. The Singaporean was slapped with a fine of RM9,100 (S$2,750) by the Magistrate’s Court at Johor Bahru earlier this month. /TISG
Read also: ‘Please teach Singaporeans how to drive a car on the highway’ video goes viral