Deregistered vehicles legally require scrapping, exporting, or placement in designated storage, but many are instead funneled illegally into public use. Investigations surged from 40 cases in 2022 to 245 in 2025, followed by another 122 in early 2026. Criminals routinely alter vehicle identification numbers, clone license plates, and falsify paperwork to rent these cars for illicit schemes. Singapore is now preparing tougher laws targeting unauthorized sellers and exporters to eliminate these invisible road hazards.
Key points
Deregistered vehicles lack valid road tax, insurance, and certificates of entitlement, ma…: Deregistered vehicles lack valid road tax, insurance, and certificates of entitlement, making them completely illegal to operate on roads.
Syndicates deliberately alter vehicle identification details and clone license plates to…: Syndicates deliberately alter vehicle identification details and clone license plates to deploy these cars in drug trafficking and moneylending harassment.
Upcoming legislative measures will increase legal penalties and target the supply chain b…: Upcoming legislative measures will increase legal penalties and target the supply chain by holding authorized exporters strictly accountable.
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- Deregistered vehicles have had their registration cancelled, so they have no valid road tax, insurance or COE. They are illegal on roads and pose serious safety risks.
- They have been linked to hit-and-runs and crime, including drug trafficking. Cases rose from 40 in 2022 to 245 in 2025, with 122 more in the first five months of 2026.
- Singapore is tightening enforcement and laws. New bills raise penalties and make authorised exporters responsible, with tougher offences for selling or supplying such vehicles.
AI generated
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…
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