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The Government will implement a package of tougher measures against motorists with outstanding warrants of arrest for parking and traffic-related offences.

Motorists who committed parking and traffic-related offences are given ample time and opportunities to pay their fines. About 95% of these motorists settle their cases by the final reminder. However, some motorists ignore repeated reminders to pay their fines, and also fail to appear in court to answer the summonses. Warrants of arrest are issued for such motorists, and even then, some do not surrender themselves at the Warrant Enforcement Unit (WEU) to execute their arrest warrants.

The Police carries out regular exercises to locate and arrest these recalcitrant motorists. For example, in the lastpast thrnineee months, the Warrant Enforcement Unit (WEU) has arrested 8,400164 recalcitrant motorists with outstanding warrants of arrest. However, locating these offenders and dealing with them take up a substantial amount of time and resources on the part of HDB, URA, the Police and the Courts.

In 1994, a set of measures was introduced to reduce the large number of outstanding warrants of arrest for parking offences at URA /HDB car parks. Despite these measures, there are presently still 375,9000 warrants issued against 10,600 parking offenders which remain unexecuted. Including other traffic-related offences, the total number of outstanding arrest warrants stands at 52,700 for 21,000 motorists. Moreover, about 200 of these offenders have accumulated over 20 warrants each.

Ignoring a warrant of arrest, even for a relatively minor offence like a parking infringement, is a grave matter as it is an act of blatant disregard for the law. The Government thus takes a stern view of motorists who do not execute their arrest warrants. To reduce the number of outstanding warrants of arrest, the Government plans to implement a package of enhanced measures against recalcitrant motorists in Jul 99. These measures are outlined below.

Motorists with outstanding arrest warrants will not be allowed to renew road taxes, HDB and URA season parking tickets, and driving licences until their cases are conclusively settled in Court.

Presently, such motorists are already denied these services, but the services are made available to them once they execute their warrants at WEU/TP/LTA. These motorists would normally be released on bail until their cases are heard in Court. However, some of them subsequently jump bail and do not show up in Court, making it necessary to issue fresh arrest warrants. Hence, denying the above services until the motorists have conclusively settled their cases will help to plug the current loophole.

As some motorists may not have to renew their driving licences until as long as 3 years later, for those who jump bail, a court application will also be made to immediately disqualify them from driving their driving licences until their cases are heard and determined by the Court.

Nearly half of the motorists with outstanding arrest warrants are foreigners. As we should only allow foreigners who respect our laws to work in Singapore, those with h outstanding arrest warrants will not have their work passes employment passes or work permits approved or renewed until their cases are conclusively settled in Court.

Posting of cash bail bond (If the Court's concurrence is received in time)

Presently the bail for the release of a parking or traffic offender is in the form of an undertaking with no cash payment. The bail can be forfeited if the offender does not appear in court on the stipulated date. As an added disincentive against bail jumping, cash bail bonds (by way of cashier’s order or bank draft) will be required for repeat offenders.

Currently, HDB and URA clamp vehicles of owners with outstanding arrest warrants only if they are found contravening parking rules. The vehicle is unclamped once the motorist pays up the unclamping fee.

For greater deterrence, the vehicles of motorists with multiple outstanding arrest warrants for parking and traffic-related and traffic-related ooffences will be liable to be towed away, regardless of whether or not they are contravening parking or traffic or traffic rules at the time of inspection. The vehicles will only be released after the motorists execute their outstanding warrants at WEU and pay up the towing charges incurred.

The authorities will exercise due caution to ensure that no wrong vehicle is towed. Before towing a vehicle, the authorities will double-check with LTA's vehicle ownership records and and WEU's wthe warrant records on-line to ensure that the vehicles are still owned by the motorist, and that the motorist's outstanding warrants are still unexecuted.

The Police has already put in place stringent screening mechanisms at immigration checkpoints to identify persons with outstanding warrants of arrest. Motorists with outstanding warrants for parking and traffic-related offences will face the prospect of being physically arrested at all immigration checkpoints.

The Government plans to implement the package of enhanced measures in July 99. Motorists with outstanding warrants of arrest are strongly advised to execute their warrants without further delay.

Those who wish to seek clarification and additional information on their warrants of arrest can call the following lines :

Traffic Police Tel : 4204110

(For traffic offences) (Office hours)

Land Transport Authority Tel: 5535285

(For vehicle-relatedERP offences) (Office hours).

The tougher measures are targeted only at a small group of recalcitrant motorists who repeatedly ignore remindersignore reminders to pay up their fines for parking and traffic-related offences, and fail to answer court summonses, resulting in warrants for their arrest. They are intended to facilitate the enforcement of the arrest warrants and bring these motorists to justice. The majority of law-abiding motorists will not be affected at all by these measures.

Ministry of National Development (MND)

Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA)

Land Transport Authority (LTA)

Date: 26 Apr 99

Mr Peh Cheng Hwee at - Tel: 3257326 (MND)

Mr Salahudin Yahya -at Tel: 4204147 (MHA)

Ms Tay Sock Kheng -at Tel: 3757135 (LTA).