SHAH ALAM: Four motorists, including a woman from China, were forced to return home using e-hailing services after their luxury vehicles were seized by the Road Transport Department (RTD) last night.
The vehicles were impounded after they were found to have been driven with expired road tax during a five-hour special operation, dubbed “Ops Pengarah,” conducted by the Selangor RTD.
The operation started at 8.30pm at the Kota Kemuning Toll Plaza along the Shah Alam Expressway (Kesas).
The seizures began when personnel stopped a Mercedes-Benz S400 driven by a woman from China.
Upon inspection, they found she was driving a vehicle without a valid road tax or insurance for over a year.
The 41-year-old woman, who is married to a Malaysian, was also driving without a valid driver’s licence.
Personnel then detected another case involving a 25-year-old Malaysian man who explained that the Toyota Vellfire MPV he was driving had been purchased just three months ago.
He said the luxury MPV was bought by his brother through a “sambung bayar” (loan takeover) arrangement with the original owner.
The man said he had informed the original owner to renew the road tax, but the owner claimed he could not do so because of outstanding summonses.
Both motorists were forced to take e-hailing rides home as RTD officers seized their vehicles.
Meanwhile, RTD Selangor director Azrin Borhan revealed that from January to July this year, a total of 16,735 offences were recorded involving individuals driving without a valid licence.
“Of that number, heavy vehicle drivers made up the largest group with 7,116 cases, followed by motorcyclists (6,596), car drivers (2,576), and public transport operators (447),” he said.
“For the same period, there were also 25,338 road tax-related offences.”
It was recently revealed that some owners of high-powered luxury vehicles are allegedly choosing not to renew their road tax and insurance because the fines are cheaper.
© New Straits Times Press (M) Bhd
