Did you know that when you change your place of residence, it is mandatory for you to update the relevant authorities? Like super mandatory. Because believe it or not, it is a crime to not report it, with a possible fine of up to S$5,000, an imprisonment term of up to five years or even both.
Now please excuse me while I try to avoid a fate like Muhammad Taufiq Hidayat bin Kamsin.
Singaporean Fined $3,700 for Purposely Not Updating His Registered Address to Avoid the Authorities
There are two things to note about Singaporean Muhammad Taufiq Hidayat: one, that he’s 35 years old this year, and two, that he was recently fined S$3,700 for failing to comply with the aforementioned rule.
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According to the ICA, Taufiq had been residing in Canberra up to December 2021, before moving out.
He failed to, however, disclose his new residential address. This is reportedly due to several issues he had with certain law enforcement agencies at the time. Or in other words, he was trying to siam them.
For the record, if an identity card holder fails to report such details to ICA within 28 days, he or she may face a harsh penalty. This is in line with stipulated rules under the National Registration Act.
Taufiq was able to escape unnoticed for some time, until 1 April 2022 when Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA), for lack of a better word, baotoh’d the dude to ICA.
A manhunt soon ensued, with auxiliary police officers turning up at his registered place to pop the question.
Alas, Taufiq had long since left the place.
It should also be noted that the homeowner did not actually let Taufiq use her residential address as his.
Surrender
Taufiq proved to be uncontactable over the next few months, and considering the outstanding Police Gazettes he had on his head, it wasn’t all that surprising.
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It was surprising, however, when Taufiq chose to say hi to the Traffic Police staff members. For the record, the TP was one of the affiliated law enforcement agencies, and he had gone to the Traffic Police (TP) Headquarters to settle some outstanding matters with the agency.
The 35-year-old Singaporean male was eventually punished with a fine of S$3,700 on 4 July 2023. If he is unable to pay up, he would have to face an imprisonment term of 10 days.
Not the First Time
Just two months ago, a 62-year-old Singaporean male by the name of Lee Kah Hin was subjected to a fine of S$2,000 for the same criminal offence.
He had reportedly taken out loans from licensed moneylenders, and defaulted on his repayments.
So for the unaware, please do update your residential details regardless of whether you’re upgrading, downgrading or selling your flat to live on the streets. The process is actually pretty foolproof too. All you gotta do is utilise ICA’s e-Service, report your new address, receive a verification pin and a new address-displaying sticker by mail, and then affix the sticker to the back of your identity card.
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You can check out the e-service here.
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