A recent three-day sting on the hunt for foul play of the two-wheeled variety turned up at least one big offender — literally. According to the Land Transport Authority, a man was nabbed riding an e-scooter that weighed nearly five times what’s allowed in Singapore.
In a Facebook post yesterday, the LTA said the ride had weighed 94kg — juuuust a bit heavier than the 20kg maximum weight limit allowed by law — and so had to be impounded.
The LTA didn’t reveal precisely where that particular e-scooter was found, but it did say the Saturday-Monday operation covered various parts of Woodlands and Jurong, including Jurong Lake Gardens.
The operation was jointly conducted with staff from the National Parks Board, which regulates Singapore’s parks, and the Singapore Police Force, many of whom were dressed in plainclothes.
Other than the heavyweight scooter, the LTA said that it also found riders who had not registered their e-scooters and those who rode on roads.
From July, all e-scooters and power-assisted bicycles in Singapore are required to be registered with the LTA or face a fine of up to S$2,000 (about US$1,400), jail for up to three months, or both. The same penalties apply to those who ride e-scooters on roads.
Registered e-scooters need to bear an Identification Mark comprising its registration number and a separate LTA Registration Mark that comes with LTA’s logo on it, or risk a maximum penalty of S$1,000 fine and three months jail for the first offense. Those who forge or alter their marks could be fined up to S$5,000, jailed up to six months, or both.
LTA saw a total of 35, mostly registration-related offenses, during their latest operation, according to its Facebook post.
“A total of 35 offenses were detected. Most were registration-related such as failure to affix identification and registration marks. A few riders were also caught riding on roads!
“Remember, #NoPMDsOnRoads and display your identification and registration mark prominently!”
Yes, the LTA actually used two exclamation points. Because it’s a big deal!
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