Young Man’s Reckless Joyride: Driving GetGo Car at High Speeds Without Licence
In Singapore, the journey to obtaining a driving licence can be lengthy and costly, often taking up to six months until the practical driving test, as reported by SmartSinga.
Even then, having a licence doesn’t guarantee the opportunity to drive regularly unless one has access to a family car.
In a novel but ill-advised attempt to circumvent these obstacles, 22-year-old Jamus Tan Le Xuan found a way to drive without waiting for a licence or owning a car.
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Jamus exploited the services of GetGo, an hourly car rental service that requires no deposit.
However, he did not use his own account for this purpose, as he didn’t possess a driving licence.
The opportunity arose in early May 2022 when Jamus’ 19-year-old friend used Jamus’ mobile phone to access his GetGo account because his own phone’s battery was low.
Unfortunately, the friend forgot to log out of his account before handing the phone back to Jamus. Oh no.
Seizing this opportunity, Jamus began using his friend’s GetGo account for his own use, linking it to his debit card for payment.
Jamus typically booked vehicles at night and returned them in the early hours of the morning, with rental costs ranging between S$16 and S$154.80 per ride.
Over approximately seven months, from May 15 to December 25, 2022, he used his friend’s account to book vehicles 45 times.
That’s literally using it like his own account.
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Did his friend realise it?
It remains unclear if his friend was aware of these unauthorized uses of his account. However, what is certain is that the police eventually caught on to Jamus’ activities.
On 25 Dec, at around 10 pm, Jamus rented another GetGo vehicle in Ang Mo Kio using his friend’s account.
He drove to Jalan Sultan, then to Bukit Gombak. In the early hours of the following day, while speeding along the Pan Island Expressway at 123km/h, he was spotted by a traffic police officer.
That was the moment he knew he couldn’t swerve his way through this.
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Upon being stopped, it was discovered that Jamus did not have a valid driving licence, leading to his arrest.
Following a probation suitability report, Jamus was deemed suitable for probation.
Yet, on Thursday, 30 Nov, Jamus pleaded guilty to three charges: cheating GetGo, driving without a licence, and driving without insurance.
Two additional charges, including driving at a speed of 123km/h, were also considered in his sentencing.
Consequently, Jamus was sentenced to 15 months’ probation.
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To ensure his son’s adherence to the terms of his probation, Tan’s father furnished a bond of S$5,000 (US$3,755), according to CNA.
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