For some wrongdoers, when they encounter officers while out and about, they will just count their unlucky stars and take whatever summons they are handed.
But for others, they seem to think that they could outrun the long arm of the law forever… that is until they get caught at the end.
For the 28-year-old Mohammad Haziq Ismail, he ended up with a hefty total fine of S$4,500 just because he wanted to escape from getting a much lighter fine in the first place.
What a great example of getting out of the frying pan into the fire this is!
Man Tried to Evade LTA Officers while Riding Illegal E-Scooter; Collided into a 7YO Girl Instead
As you may or may not know, e-scooters have been banned from footpaths since November 5, 2019.
Offenders will face a fine of up to S$2,000 and up to 3 months of jail time.
On Aug 25, 2020, the 28-year-old was spotted riding his electric scooter (a.k.a. a personal mobility device or PMD) on the public footpath along Woodlands Avenue 1 in the evening to buy some food.
But unfortunately for him, Land Transport Authority (LTA) officers were out on patrol that day and one of them asked Haziq to stop while showing him his officer’s ID card.
From a previous encounter with LTA, Haziq knew that his e-scooter non-compliant as it was non-UL2272 certified.
Worried that he might get a heavy fine and thinking that he could get away with it, Haziq immediately did a U-turn on his scooter and tried to escape the LTA officer.
Instead, he ran right into a seven-year-old girl behind him. The girl was with her father at that time.
Thankfully, the girl didn’t fall and, besides the shock, she was alright.
Without stopping to check on the girl, Haziq rode his scooter towards the busy road nearby.
He went against the traffic, weaving in between the vehicles as he escaped the scene. Several cars had to stop or slow down.
You can’t escape the long arm of the law
… at least not in Singapore!
He was eventually tracked down and arrested a few months later on Jan 29, 2021.
According to the statements released, Haziq had even tried to get rid of the “escape vehicle” by selling it to an anonymous person for S$450.
He has to pay more than twice that amount
Haziq would probably have gotten a S$2,000 fine had he just stopped when he was asked to by the LTA officer.
Instead, he now has to pay more than twice that amount no thanks to his great escape, which unfortunately caused him to violate two more laws, both of which came with hefty fines and potential jail sentences of their own.
He was charged with committing a negligent act that endangered others’ lives or personal safety, and riding a PMD on the road, in addition to riding a non-compliant PMD on a footpath.
Haziq pleaded guilty to all charges.
Featured Image: Oleg Elkov / Shutterstock.com
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