LTA investigating incident of BMW driver changing licence plate in Malaysia

The Land Transport Authority (LTA) is investigating an incident where the driver was a Singapore-registered BMW was photographed switching his licence plates before speeding on a highway in Malaysia, a spokesman told Stomp.

The May 18 incident took place at a Petron station in Gelang Patah, Johor, which is about a 10-minute drive from Tuas Checkpoint.

Photos circulating online show the male driver changing the original licence plate SLX27E on his gold BMW 320i to one displaying SKD2777C, which belongs to a Hyundai Elantra.

About an hour after the switch, the BMW was caught speeding on a Malaysian highway.

However, the RM150 (S$49) summons was issued to the Hyundai vehicle instead, as seen in screengrabs posted by Facebook page SG Road Vigilante - SGRV.

Another speeding summons dated July 22, 2017, had also been issued to the Hyundai.

The Facebook post has garnered over 6,000 shares to date.

In response to a Stomp query, an LTA spokesman said: "The owner of the Hyundai vehicle has filed a report with LTA and we are currently investigating the matter."

Under Malaysia's Road Transport Act, if a car is found with a vehicle number plate that does not belong to it, the offender could be fined up to RM5,000 and jailed for up to a year.

The vehicle could also be seized, reported The Straits Times.

In Singapore, the penalty for displaying a forged number plate is a fine of up to $5,000 and/or jail of up to a year.