Go-Jek driver Kamaruzzaman Abdul Latiff, who was caught in a tussle with one of his passengers earlier this year, has been issued a warning by the Land Transport Authority (LTA) for his “unauthorised recording” and disclosure of himself and the female passenger in his car.
An LTA spokesperson told The Straits Times on Wed (8 May): “LTA would like to remind all taxi drivers and private-hire car drivers that they are not allowed to make recordings within their vehicles without LTA’s approval or disclose recordings to unauthorised personnel.
“This is to ensure commuter privacy, safety and protection of personal data,” the spokesperson added.
Mr Kamaruzzaman, 49, will now be required to maintain a clean record for the next 12 months from the date of the conditional warning.
However, ST noted that Mr Kamaruzzaman’s licence will not be revoked, as the demerit points he had obtained did not go over the threshold stipulated under the Vocational Licence Demerit Points System.
For a vocational licence to be revoked, a licence holder must have a total of more than 20 demerit points within the span of 24 months.
Private-hire car drivers, like taxi drivers, are bound by a framework of rules and regulations set by the LTA, which is tied in to the points system to keep drivers’ conduct on the road in check, as well as to facilitate transparency in terms of investigating cases and administering penalties to purportedly errant drivers.
Mr Kamaruzzaman’s case went viral after he had posted a video in a Facebook group called Go-Jek Singapore Community, in which he was embroiled in a dispute with Jovina Choi, 26, over the Electronic Road Pricing gantries.
Ms Choi accused Mr Kamaruzzaman of trying to cheat her out of her money by taking the allegedly more expensive route whilst on the Central Expressway after picking her up from Block 251 Bishan Street 22.
Mr Kamaruzzaman reiterated multiple times that he preferred to resolve the matter at a police station, following which he had stopped his car at Lorong 4 Toa Payoh and spoken to a Certis Cisco officer.
The dispute between Mr Kamaruzzaman and Ms Choi reached its peak when the passenger screamed and accused the driver of locking his car door on purpose and had intentions of kidnapping her.
Previously on 7 Feb, Mr Kamaruzzaman said that the LTA had given him the green light to drive for the ride-hailing company until “the decision is out”.
ST reported that LTA had sent him a letter dated 4 February summoning Mr Kamaruzzaman to an interview for investigation after complaints were filed against him.
Mr Kamaruzzaman declined to comment on LTA’s conditional warning when approached by ST.
