SINGAPORE: A 60-year-old man’s driving instructor licence has been collecting dust for 22 years. Despite this, he still continued giving lessons, even after being arrested and charged. With this, more than 100 people learned from him and his illegal classes over a year.
According to investigations reported by Zaobao, the suspect’s driving instructor licence expired in March 2001, and it was not renewed afterwards. Due to his crime, the suspect now faces three charges of violating the Road Traffic Act and one count of violating the law that disapproves of teaching driving without a licence and allowing students to drive without insurance coverage. The suspect then pleaded guilty to two of the charges and was sentenced to five weeks’ imprisonment, a fine of S$1,000, and a two-year suspension of his driving licence (both classes).
More case details
Case details revealed that between December 2023 and April 2024, the suspect had an agreement with his friend, who was a licensed private instructor, to refer students to him. Back then, the suspect charged S$60 to S$65 per hour, and the students were oblivious that he did not have a valid driving instructor’s licence.
More so, the suspect used his brother’s car to teach his classes, and approximately 70 to 80 students learned from him during this period. Ever after class, the suspect would have his students drive his brother’s car and practice on the roads of Ume.
Unfortunately, there was an incident where the suspect allowed his student to drive in the Ume area and was stopped by the traffic police for a routine check. At this time, the student did not have a driver’s licence, and the car did not have an “L” licence plate. Furthermore, the suspect’s seat did not have a brake installed. This incident revealed his crime, and he was arrested in October 2024 and charged in court in November.
Continued illegal driving teachings
Despite being arrested, the man continued to teach driving from December to March 2025. He admitted that he taught about 40 to 50 students during this period. The suspect also raised his fee for each lesson to $70.
However, he was once again caught for the second time during a routine traffic police check in March, and was arrested in September 2025.
Other news
In separate news regarding drivers, there was a report where a Singaporean mother, daughter and their other relatives experienced a traumatic ride when the driver of their private hire car in Johor Bahru was only wearing underwear.
Read more about the story here.
