8.—(1) Subject to paragraphs (2) and (4), any person who during the restricted hours rides, drives or moves a motor vehicle into a specified entry point on a specified road when —
(a)
there is no in-vehicle unit installed in the vehicle;
(b)
the in-vehicle unit therein has not been properly installed in accordance with the Second Schedule;
(c)
the in-vehicle unit installed therein is defective;
(d)
the in-vehicle unit installed therein has been unlawfully taken from another motor vehicle;
(e)
the in-vehicle unit therein has been installed, repaired, tampered with, adjusted, altered or modified in contravention of rule 4;
(f)
no ERP card has been inserted in the in-vehicle unit;
(g)
the ERP card has not been properly inserted in the in-vehicle unit;
(h)
the ERP card being used by him with the in-vehicle unit has a stored value of an amount that is insufficient to pay for any road user charge incurred by him; or
(i)
the ERP card being used by him with the in-vehicle unit is a forgery or is defective,
shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $1,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 months or to both.
(2) Where the Registrar has reason to believe that a person has committed an offence under paragraph (1)(f), (g) or (h), the Registrar may by notice in writing require the person to pay, within such time and in such manner as may be specified in the notice, the road user charge incurred by him and —
(a)
in a case where the offence is committed before 3rd January 2005, an administrative charge of $10;
(b)
in a case where the offence is committed on or after 3rd January 2005 and payment is made directly to the Authority or at any post office (whether by cheque, cash or NETS), an administrative charge of $10; or
(c)
in a case where the offence is committed on or after 3rd January 2005 and payment is made in any manner specified in the notice (other than those specified in sub-paragraph (b)), an administrative charge of $8.
[S 787/2004 wef 03/01/2005]
(2A) If a person to whom a notice under paragraph (2) is given complies with the notice, he shall not be guilty of the offence under paragraph (1)(f), (g) or (h), as the case may be.
[S 787/2004 wef 03/01/2005]
(3) Any person who, during the restricted hours, rides, drives or moves a motor vehicle from an area outside a specified entry point on a specified road to an area within the specified entry point in such a manner as to avoid riding, driving or moving the motor vehicle into the specified entry point and thereby evades payment of the road user charge levied in respect of that specified entry point shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $2,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 months or to both.
(4) It shall be a defence in any prosecution for a contravention or non-compliance with —
(a)
paragraph (1)(b), (c), (d), (e), (g), (h) or (i) for the person charged to prove to the satisfaction of the court that he did not know nor could reasonably have discovered the contravention or non-compliance referred to in the charge; or
(b)
paragraph (1)(c), (e) or (i) involving the use of a defective in-vehicle unit or a defective ERP card, as the case may be, for the person charged to prove to the satisfaction of the court that the defect in the in-vehicle unit or ERP card occurred through no fault of his in the course of the journey during which the offence was committed.