RTD seizes tourist Land Rover with road tax expired for 18 years

CAMERON HIGHLANDS: The Road Transport Department has seized a four-wheel-drive vehicle ferrying tourists after discovering its road tax had been expired for 18 years.

A Pahang department spokesman said officers from the Cameron Highlands branch intercepted the Land Rover, driven by a 66-year-old man carrying three passengers, along Jalan Sungai Palas towards Gunung Brinchang at 1pm yesterday.

"Checks found that the vehicle's road tax had expired on April 1, 2008, and that it lacked valid insurance coverage.

"The driver was issued two traffic summonses, while the vehicle was seized and taken to the department's Raub seizure depot for further action," he said in a statement.

Those driving without valid road tax face prosecution under Section 23(1) of the Road Transport Act 1987, which carries a fine of up to RM2,000.

Driving without valid vehicle insurance is an offence under Section 90(1) of the same act, punishable by a fine of up to RM1,000, up to three months' imprisonment, or both.

The Land Rover was reportedly used to transport visitors into the rainforest beyond a checkpoint where private vehicles are prohibited.