Deregistered cars found parked in multi-storey carpark in Tiong Bahru; HDB investigating
Cars that have been deregistered have been found parked in a multi-storey carpark in Tiong Bahru in a likely bid to illegally evade parking fines.
An anonymous user who put up a post on the Facebook group Complaint Singapore on Sept 9 said the cars were moved by tow trucks into the multi-storey carpark at Block 120B, Kim Tian Place, and parked on the upper floors.
The post also included photos of numerous cars in the HDB carpark, accompanied by a screenshot of registration records available on the Land Transport Authority’s One Motoring website.
The screenshot was meant to indicate that the registration record for a car photographed at the carpark was not available – meaning the car was deregistered.
An investigation is under way. When contacted, Housing Board declined to provide details.
Towing firm Shenton Recovery director Shenton Koh told The Straits Times that the Electronic Parking System (EPS) deployed in Singapore carparks cannot detect towed vehicles, allowing them to pass through carpark gantries without paying.
Parking charges for cars at the Kim Tian Place HDB carpark where the cars were seen are $2.40 for two hours. Monthly season parking is $110.
It is an offence for motorists to evade payment by tailgating other vehicles or bypassing carpark gantries at carparks that use the EPS system, according to information found on the HDB website.
Rules listed on the LTA website indicate that vehicles have to be scrapped, exported or stored temporarily in an export-processing zone (EPZ) within a month of being deregistered and proof of deregistration needs to be submitted.
When the Certificate of Entitlement for a car expires, the owner can either scrap the car at an LTA-appointed scrapyard or sell it to a car dealer, who can help with the paperwork.
Mr Jake Ler, chief marketing officer at Motorist Singapore – an online portal offering a listing of motoring services – said car dealers can either resell the car, scrap it at a scrapyard or store it in an EPZ before exporting it to another country.
He said: “Storing a car at an EPZ can cost anywhere between $100 and $200 a day.”
Cars are usually stored at an EPZ for three to four days before being exported, he added.
Mr K.H. Yong, a director at car export firm JA8 Import and Export, said it would cost at least $15,000 a month to rent a space large enough to store a batch of deregistered cars before they are scrapped or exported.
“A huge space is required to store vehicles and the gate must be big enough for containers to enter and exit easily,” he added.
JA8 stores about 30 cars at its scrapyard and exports about 20 cars every 10 days.
Anyone found guilty of not submitting documents of proof can face a maximum fine of $2,000 or three months of imprisonment. Repeat offenders can be fined up to $5,000 or up to six months of imprisonment.
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