askST: What are deregistered vehicles, and why are they a problem?

SINGAPORE – The fatal Tampines crash on Oct 29 involved a blue Audi that ploughed through the road divider and slammed into a motorcycle and another car along Tampines Avenue 12, killing the motorcyclist and his pregnant wife who was riding pillion.

Although the Audi driver and his passenger fled the scene, they were arrested the next day.

The driver, Muhammad Zulfiqar Abdul Aziz, 30, was handed nine charges on Oct 31, including one for using a deregistered vehicle.

There has been an increasing number of reported cases of deregistered vehicles being used on roads here.

More than 240 cases of such vehicles were investigated in 2025 for their involvement in criminal activities and hit-and-run accidents.

What are deregistered vehicles?

Deregistered vehicles are motor vehicles that have had their official registration cancelled, and no longer have valid road tax, insurance or a certificate of entitlement.

These include both cars and motorcycles.

Typically, owners deregister their vehicles close to the end of their 10-year certificate of entitlement.

Deregistration entails an administrative process that includes clearing financial obligations and submitting proof of disposal to the Land Transport Authority (LTA).

The vehicle is supposed to be either scrapped at an LTA-appointed scrapyard, exported, or stored temporarily at an LTA-appointed Export Processing Zone pending export.

Alternatively, owners can engage a motor dealer to help them dispose of the vehicle.

Once deregistered, the vehicles are illegal to use.

The authorities also say these vehicles pose serious road safety risks as they do not have valid insurance and are not roadworthy.

How are these vehicles on Singapore’s roads?

LTA had said it could not disclose how deregistered vehicles find their way back onto Singapore’s roads, citing confidentiality of investigations.

However, past court cases provide some idea.

In 2021, a man was jailed for selling and renting deregistered cars which were used to commit crime. The scheme involved buying cars with certificates of entitlement close to expiry, and grinding off their chassis and engine numbers.

The licence plates of these cars were replaced with clones of existing registered cars of similar colour, make and model.

Their in-vehicle units were also replaced with those of other registered vehicles.

Documents that made the vehicles appear to have been exported or about to be exported were submitted to the authorities.

The modified cars were touted as untraceable, and were sold and rented on a no-questions-asked basis.

No checks were conducted on whether the buyers were even legally allowed to drive.

Deregistered cars sold and rented by the man were used in at least six other criminal cases, including those involved in road traffic violations and in a case of unlicensed moneylending-related harassment.

There have also been instances of rogue exporters failing to properly dispose of or export deregistered vehicles.

Q: What sort of activities have deregistered vehicles been used for?

Many of them were involved in hit-and-run accidents and criminal activities, including drug trafficking.

In 2024, a deregistered car was found abandoned in the middle of the PIE after it collided with four other vehicles.

There were 40 such cases in 2022, and 39 in 2023. This jumped to 75 in 2024 and 245 in 2025.

In the first five months of 2026, LTA investigated 122 cases.

These cases included a dramatic car chase in Geylang in January that led to the arrest of a teen driving a deregistered car while under the influence of drugs.

The next month, the police caught two 16-year-old girls riding a deregistered motorcycle on the ECP.

Q: How are the authorities dealing with the problem?

It is difficult to identify deregistered cars just by looking at them, even when they go through gantries or pass through the land checkpoints.

The authorities have been clamping down on deregistered vehicles in recent years, running targeted operations and enforcement checks.

Following an islandwide crackdown in September, the authorities found 91 deregistered vehicles that they then impounded.

In addition, new laws have been introduced to tighten the deregistration process and to impose heavier penalties for non-compliance.

In February, the Land Transport and Related Matters Bill was passed, raising the maximum penalties for keeping or using unregistered or deregistered vehicles.

Previously, those caught keeping or using a deregistered vehicle could be fined up to $2,000 and jailed for up to three months for a first offence, while repeat offenders could be fined up to $5,000 and jailed for up to six months.

The punishment was increased to up to two years’ jail and a $20,000 fine for first-time offenders, and double that for repeat offenders.

In October, the Land Transport and Related Matters (No. 2) Bill was passed.

This shifts responsibility for deregistered vehicles from their owners to authorised exporters via the new Authorised Exporter Scheme.

Under the scheme, deregistered vehicles must be exported through LTA-authorised exporters.

It also introduced a new offence for people who sell or supply deregistered vehicles knowing, or without considering whether, the vehicles will be kept or used on Singapore roads.

The penalties mirror those for keeping or using a deregistered vehicle.