JB NIGHTMARE FOR S'POREAN
DARK DARKER DARKEST
DARK: Tinted car windows, cops stop him
DARKER: He fears they are carjackers & resist arrest
DARKEST: He has to strip, sleep sitting up in crowded cell
By Crystal Chan
March 24, 2007
CONFUSION over tinted windows, coupled with his fears of car-jacking landed Singaporean LWSim in a Johor Baru jail.
His is a shocking lesson for Singapore drivers who may not know that tinted windows which meet with the Land Transport Authority's requirements could get you into trouble in Malaysia.
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 placed 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 three-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 carpark near City Square, a shopping complex at Jalan Wong Ah Fook in JB.
He was waiting for his 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 5m 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 was standing nearby.'
PLAINCLOTHES
That man turned out to be a plainclothes police officer. He 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 per cent of light, compared with 50 per cent for Malaysia.
Last month, another Singaporean, logistics manager Lawrence Lee, 47, was issued a summons for driving to Malacca in a car that had dark windows.
Mr Lee was told the fine would not be more than RM300 ($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 headquarters.
A check with JB's traffic police confirmed that it has the right to impound cars with tinted windows for further checks.
If the amount of tint 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 ended 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.
He said: 'I never doubted they were real cops since they showed me their credentials, but I wasn't sure if they were good ones.
'And I never expected the matter to get so serious.'
At the police station, they were told that they were being detained for obstructing justice as they had argued with the cops.
Bail was denied. Mr Sim could only make one phone call, so he called his younger brother.
His car was impounded at the traffic police headquarters, which was some distance away.
The stay in the lock-up was unpleasant.
Mr Sim said: 'I was ordered to strip to my underwear and kept in a cell with 37 other people. My friends were in separate cells.
'It was so crowded that there was no space to lie down. I had to sleep in a sitting position but it was hard to sleep as I was worried about what would happen.'
DIDN'T TELL PARENTS
The following morning, Mr Sim's younger brother, who declined to be named, arrived at the police station.
Mr Sim was due to appear in court that afternoon.
His brother told The New Paper: 'I didn't tell our parents about the incident as I didn't want them to worry.'
He added that he had engaged he met a lawyer at the police stationher to represent his brother.
That afternoon, Mr Sim was charged with obstruction of justice and jailed a day in the same lock-up.
'The lawyer pleaded for leniency, so I spent only an extra day in the lock-up. Otherwise, I'd be detained longer.'
The New Paper's checks with the JB police confirmed that MrSim was detained after arguing with the police over the tinted car windows.
They also said that phone calls are not allowed in the lock-up.
The traffic police said it has the authority to impound cars for further checks if officers suspect that the windows were too dark.
The matter did not end with Mr Sim's release. When he collected his car from the traffic police, he had to pay a RM200 fine for having windows that were tinted above the limit.
Showing us the receipt for the fine, Mr Sim said: 'The trouble started because of the car windows. But when I was arrested and detained, the car windows became the secondary issue.'
Still, the incident will not stop MrSim from visiting Malaysia.
He said: 'I'll just avoid driving there in cars with tinted windows.
'I've also told my friends who own similar cars that they should be careful when driving into Malaysia.'
