KUCHING: Police are cracking down on fake and non-standard licence plates following a number of summonses issued to innocent motorists.
Kuching OCPD ACP Ahsmon Bajah said a roadblock was set up along Jalan Datuk Bandar Mustapha here near the Jalan Stampin Tengah junction, on Monday (Oct 4) to weed out errant motorists.
He said police received a number of complaints from motorists who were falsely summoned for various traffic-related offences.
“In 2019 and 2020, there were eight of these cases each year — vehicles were summoned by the authorities, but they were not at the location.
“This is due to fancy fonts that make it difficult to read and there were even fake licence plates that caused others to become victims,” he told the media after visiting the roadblock on Wednesday (Oct 6).
ACP Ahsmon said between January and October this year, police also received eight complaints on the same issue, adding that some of the vehicles summoned by the authorities were located in different states and districts.
“Apart from violating the Road Transport Act 1987, which can be compounded up to RM3,000, they (errant motorists) have made it difficult for other people who comply with the rules.”
He added that the use of fake or fancy licence plates also made it difficult for the public who witnessed crime to channel information to the police.
“This has allowed many perpetrators to escape the law as the information channelled by the public was inaccurate due to the perpetrators using false licence plates.”
He urged car accessory shop owners to refrain from selling licence plates with fancy fonts.
“Please have the moral responsibility and don’t simply sell fancy plates because anyone can be a victim of this crime.”
