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Thursday, 15 December 2011
Singaporeans dumping cars in Johor to claim insurance?
A Johor state assemblyman has alleged that Singaporeans are dumping their cars in Johor and claiming insurance on the pretext that the vehicles were stolen.
Singaporeans dumping cars in Johor to claim insurance?
Johor politician accuses owners of faking loss in order to claim insurance
The Star 15 December 2011
A Johor state assemblyman has alleged that Singaporeans are dumping their cars in Johor and claiming insurance on the pretext that the vehicles were stolen.
Datuk Tee Siew Kiong has called for an investigation, saying that such incidents gave a false impression that many vehicles were stolen in Malaysia.
He also said the incidents were rampant, but he did not provide any statistics or details.
A spokesman for Great Eastern Holdings, Singapore’s largest insurance group, told The Straits Times yesterday it had not come across such a thing here.
Mr Tee told the Johor state assembly on Tuesday that he was raising the issue after hearing of several cases from friends.
‘A few Singaporean friends have admitted that Singaporeans who own luxury cars but could no longer afford them prefer to dispose of them here and make a police report claiming they were stolen,’ said the Pulai Sebatang assemblyman.
When queried by The Straits Times yesterday, Mr Tee said that according to his Singapore friends, the scam was usually carried out by owners of luxury cars who could not sell their vehicles or wanted to save face when they could no longer maintain them and wanted to downgrade.
He said: ‘They come to Johor and sell their car on the black market and get money. Then they report to the Malaysian police. After that, they use the Malaysian police report and report in Singapore again. They can claim insurance.
‘Then they buy a small car, saying it’s small and won’t get stolen in JB.’
Mr Tee also said the car owners could also sell their certificates of entitlement (COEs) after reporting the loss of their vehicles.
His claims were picked up by several Malaysian newspapers.
Mr Tee said he heard of a case of a Singaporean who had reported the loss of his car two months ago, but refused to collect it when the car was found by Malaysian police.
‘It is understood the vehicle owner does not want to reclaim his vehicle, and that is very strange,’ he said.
The assemblyman urged Malaysia’s police to work with their Singapore counterparts and the Interpol to clamp down on the alleged scams.
‘They (Singaporeans) are abusing the law for their own gain,’ he was quoted by the New Straits Times as saying.
‘As a good neighbour, it is hoped that their authorities can cooperate to settle the problem as it can tarnish the good name of Johor.’
Crime in Johor has long been a touchy issue on both sides of the Causeway and even among Malaysian politicians.
Recently, Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng was taken to task by Johor leaders after alluding to crime rates in the country’s southernmost state.
Some Singaporeans say they and their cars are targeted when they cross into Johor Baru, but Malaysian authorities have repeatedly dismissed this, presenting statistics that showed car thefts involving Singapore vehicles have been negligible.
They also note that the number of Singaporean crime victims in Johor has remained low over the years.
In the first eight months of this year, officials said recently, only 230 Singaporeans fell victim to crime in Johor - just 0.002 per cent of the 14.1 million visits Singaporeans made to Johor in that period.
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Singaporeans dumping cars in Johor to claim insurance?
Johor politician accuses owners of faking loss in order to claim insurance
The Star
15 December 2011
A Johor state assemblyman has alleged that Singaporeans are dumping their cars in Johor and claiming insurance on the pretext that the vehicles were stolen.
Datuk Tee Siew Kiong has called for an investigation, saying that such incidents gave a false impression that many vehicles were stolen in Malaysia.
He also said the incidents were rampant, but he did not provide any statistics or details.
A spokesman for Great Eastern Holdings, Singapore’s largest insurance group, told The Straits Times yesterday it had not come across such a thing here.
Mr Tee told the Johor state assembly on Tuesday that he was raising the issue after hearing of several cases from friends.
‘A few Singaporean friends have admitted that Singaporeans who own luxury cars but could no longer afford them prefer to dispose of them here and make a police report claiming they were stolen,’ said the Pulai Sebatang assemblyman.
When queried by The Straits Times yesterday, Mr Tee said that according to his Singapore friends, the scam was usually carried out by owners of luxury cars who could not sell their vehicles or wanted to save face when they could no longer maintain them and wanted to downgrade.
He said: ‘They come to Johor and sell their car on the black market and get money. Then they report to the Malaysian police. After that, they use the Malaysian police report and report in Singapore again. They can claim insurance.
‘Then they buy a small car, saying it’s small and won’t get stolen in JB.’
Mr Tee also said the car owners could also sell their certificates of entitlement (COEs) after reporting the loss of their vehicles.
His claims were picked up by several Malaysian newspapers.
Mr Tee said he heard of a case of a Singaporean who had reported the loss of his car two months ago, but refused to collect it when the car was found by Malaysian police.
‘It is understood the vehicle owner does not want to reclaim his vehicle, and that is very strange,’ he said.
The assemblyman urged Malaysia’s police to work with their Singapore counterparts and the Interpol to clamp down on the alleged scams.
‘They (Singaporeans) are abusing the law for their own gain,’ he was quoted by the New Straits Times as saying.
‘As a good neighbour, it is hoped that their authorities can cooperate to settle the problem as it can tarnish the good name of Johor.’
Crime in Johor has long been a touchy issue on both sides of the Causeway and even among Malaysian politicians.
Recently, Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng was taken to task by Johor leaders after alluding to crime rates in the country’s southernmost state.
Some Singaporeans say they and their cars are targeted when they cross into Johor Baru, but Malaysian authorities have repeatedly dismissed this, presenting statistics that showed car thefts involving Singapore vehicles have been negligible.
They also note that the number of Singaporean crime victims in Johor has remained low over the years.
In the first eight months of this year, officials said recently, only 230 Singaporeans fell victim to crime in Johor - just 0.002 per cent of the 14.1 million visits Singaporeans made to Johor in that period.
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