The authorities have made one thing abundantly clear during the circuit breaker period: all lawbreakers will be caught and punished.
Met your friends early in the morning when everyone else was sleeping? The police will find you.
Escaped after stabbing an NParks officer? The police will find you.
Yes, even if it seems like there’s no apparent way you could get caught for your misdeed, the police will still find you.
This is Singapore, after all.
First Man Charged for Carpooling During Circuit Breaker; Could Be Banned from Driving for a Year
Today (28 May), a 53-year-old man became the first driver to be charged for providing carpooling services during the circuit breaker period, along with two other traffic offences.
Ng Chiang Huat was charged with one count of leaving his house without reasonable excuse under the Covid-19 (Temporary Measures) Act.
The Singapore permanent resident was also charged for driving without the required insurance policy and without a valid public service vehicle licence.
Last month, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) caught Ng and another driver and seized their vehicles for continuing to provide carpool services after it was outlawed.
Ng allegedly provided the service at around 10.45am on 23 Apr, at Handy Road.
Carpool Services Prohibited
If you used to make some extra cash carpooling before the circuit breaker, you’re probably aware that carpooling services, even private ones, are prohibited during the circuit breaker.
This means that dropping a friend off would also be illegal.
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Yet some drivers, presumably because they want to part with their money or have a burning curiosity about what life in jail is like, continue to offer such services online.
“While commercial operators have suspended their carpooling services, LTA is aware that some drivers, like the two who have been booked, continue to offer such services privately through messaging platforms,” LTA said.
A check on Telegram groups shows that just a week ago, one rider made a request for a “long term hitch” on one Telegram carpool group, despite the ban on carpool services.
It is unclear if other private carpooling groups are still offering such services.
LTA slammed Ng and the other errant driver for their “irresponsible behaviour”, saying it puts the health of the drivers, passengers, and their families at risk.
They urged anyone who comes across anyone offering illegal carpooling services to make a report through the OneMotoring portal.
Ng will return to court next month and intends to plead guilty.
Harsh Punishments
Drivers like Ng who continue to offer carpool services during the circuit breaker must not be aware of the harsh punishments that await them.
If you’re caught providing such services, you could be jailed for six months, fined up to S$10,000, or both, because you’ve breached a Covid-19 regulation.
As for Ng? In addition to this, as well as fines and jail terms for his other offences, he could be banned from driving for up to a year (possible due to the insurance issue).
So, if you drive for a living, some extra cash now isn’t worth the risk when it could cost you up to a year’s worth of income, or even more if you go to jail.
Just follow the rules and before you know it, you’ll be able to do the things you used to before the Covid-19 pandemic.
Reader: Great, I’ll soon be able to go to the toilet without washing my hands.
That’s not exactly what I meant.
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