Last year, there were 292 cases of foreign drivers driving commercial vehicles without a qualified driver's license, a surge of nearly 50% year-on-year. Traffic police expressed concern about this and have strengthened law enforcement and public education to enhance driving safety awareness.

Associate Professor Fe Saul, Minister of the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Ministry of National Development, disclosed the above data when Congress responded to a question from Yang Chugang District Councilor Ye Hanrong on Friday (February 28).

Ye Hanrong asked that traffic police often conduct surprise inspections at construction sites or workplaces to verify whether commercial vehicle drivers, especially foreign drivers, hold valid driver's licenses.

Fissauer said traffic police would not raid the construction site or workplace for this, but instead inspect commercial vehicle drivers, including foreign drivers, while patrolling the road.

He said that over the past five years, an average of 270 foreign drivers have been found driving commercial vehicles without a compliant driver’s license. Among them, last year alone, the number of related cases surged by 47%, reaching 292.

Further reading

Traffic police have been investigated for illegal violations of 36 drivers without a valid driver's license

Traffic police have been investigated for illegal violations of 36 drivers without a valid driver's license

Feisauer said the traffic police expressed concern about this and had strengthened law enforcement and public education.

Cross-border factory-bus issue also attracted attention

In addition to the issue of foreign drivers driving commercial vehicles without a qualified driver's license, the management of cross-border factory buses has also attracted attention recently.

The Land Transportation Administration sent a letter to the Malaysian Jonan Factory Bath Association in January this year, reminding Malaysian to use the guild to remind the owners and drivers of registered factory Baths that they can only carry employees of Singapore companies that they serve to pass the checkpoint.

If the owner or driver of the factory bus is found to be carrying a person in violation of regulations, he may be denied entry to Singapore. The Land Transportation Bureau will also revoke the ASEAN public service vehicle permit issued to these factories and buses and prohibit buses from entering Singapore.

According to the Highway Traffic Act, Malaysia-registered buses must hold an ASEAN public service vehicle pass issued by the Land Transportation Bureau in order to transport passengers from Malaysia to Singapore. Each pass can only be bound to one bus and is valid for up to six months. Malaysian registered factory is only allowed to carry employees of Singapore companies that they serve.

Despite this, the Land Transportation Bureau and the Immigration and Checkpoints Bureau found that some Malaysian registered factories will recruit and pick up other passengers in the Woodlands Checkpoint bus hall. A spokesperson for the Luxun Communications Bureau and the Immigration Bureau said in response to the enquiry of Lianhe Zaobao that this violates the conditions for the ASEAN public service vehicle permit, and the Luxun Communications Bureau has the right to revoke the permit.

The spokesperson pointed out that buses carrying passengers for illegal purposes hindered the operation of licensed cross-border bus services, resulting in delays in travel for users of other levels. The Immigration Bureau will inspect illegal factories and take law enforcement actions.

As of the end of January this year, there were 359 Malaysian registered factory buses, holding valid ASEAN public service vehicle permits.