Singaporean Arrested in Johor Baru over Window Tint

[B][/B]This is because Malaysia has stricter laws on the amount of light that must be able to pass through tinted car windows.

Mr Sim, 29, found this out the hard way when he refused to let JB police impound his car for further checks. He was arrested and place in a police lock-up.

The sub-contractor was later charged in court with obstructing justice and jailed a day.

Mr Sim had driven his 3-year old Honda Civic to JB for a shopping trip on 11 Mar. At about 6.30pm that day, he was approached by a traffic policeman in a car park near City Square, a shopping complex at Jalan Wong Ah Fook in JB. He was waiting for two Malaysian friends, who were withdrawing money from a nearby Maybank branch.

Mr Sim recalled: “A uniformed traffic police officer came up to me and told me to drive five metres forward.”
"I did so and I got out of the car to ask him what was the matter. He then told me to go to another man who standing nearby.”

[B]PLAIN CLOTHES[/B]

That man turned out to be a plain-clothes police officer and showed Mr Sim his police warrant card.

Mr Sim said: “I don't understand Malay but the card had the word 'Polis' on it, and I knew it's Malay for police.”

"This officer told me that my car wasn't allowed in Malaysia as it has tinted windows,” said Mr Sim.

Singapore's LTA requires the side windows of vehicles to allow in at least 25% light, compared with 50% for Malaysia.

Last month, another Singaporean, Logistics Manager Mr Lawrence Lee, 47, was issued a summons for driving to Malacca in a car that had dark windows.

Mr Sim was told the fine would not be more than RM300 (SGD$132).

But Mr Sim was unaware of the law. “I've been driving to JB at least once a week since I bought the car in 2004 and I haven't been stopped before.” he said.

“I tinted the windows when I bought the car so that I don't get so much glare from the sun when the weather is hot.”

Things turned ugly when both cops insisted on towing his car to the traffic police HQ.

A check with Johor Baru's Traffic Police confirmed that it has the right to impound cars with tinted windows for further checks.

If the amount of tinted is against Malaysia's laws, the driver will be fined when he collects the vehicle.

Mr Sim said he was worried that the men might be from a car-jacking syndicate. He refused to surrender his car keys and end up arguing with them.

He said: “I thought I'd only be fined. Instead, they wanted to detain my car for 48 hours. They also didn't give me any documents to show that my car was being impounded.”

Mr Sim's two Malaysian friends arrived, and the heated exchange continued. All three men ended up being arrested.

A police car arrived and took the men to the JB Selatan Police Station.

Credits: nikolaiski