Driver who rammed car into traffic to escape from police in Marsiling found to be a wanted man

Driver rams his way out of traffic in an attempt to escape police

A Mitsubishi Lancer was seen ramming its way out of traffic in a viral dashcam video posted on the Facebook page Singapore Road Accidents.

However, a civilian man wearing a grey shirt was seen trying to stop the vehicle on foot.

Shortly after, policemen arrived to smash its driver’s seat window and apprehend the driver.

The incident took place on Tuesday (28 May) at the junction of Admiralty Road and Marsiling Lane.

The man in grey turns out to be 29-year-old Maurice, a sales advisor at the local car dealership, A Star Motors Pte Ltd.

He explained that the Mitsubishi Lancer was a “clone” of a car he had sold to a female customer, and it even had the same license plate number.

The driver of the “cloned” Mitsubishi Lancer was found to be a wanted man, was in possession of weapons, and tested positive for controlled drugs, according to police.

Driver tries to escape from police by ramming into traffic

On 28 May at about 5.50pm, the police was alerted to an incident happening at the junction of Admiralty Road and Marsiling Lane involving a Mitsubishi Lancer.

The car had stopped in traffic at a red light when a man in grey, Maurice, began approaching the vehicles around it, purpotedly asking them to stay in place.

The drivers of the vehicles in front of the car followed his instruction, remaining stationary even after the traffic lights turned green and the other vehicles had moved off.

The Mitsubishi driver then tried to drive through the gap between the two trucks but was stopped by the 29-year-old sales advisor.

In another attempt, the car hit one of the trucks.

Despite police officers arriving and trying to break the car window, the driver kept maneouvering his vehicles and tried to ram his way out of traffic once more, hitting another car.

When police officers finally managed to break the window, Maurice lunged forward to grab the driver.

Another video posted on Facebook page SG Road Vigilante showed the driver being pulled out of his car and pinned to the ground by police.

Mitsubishi Lancer a “clone”

The Mitsubishi Lancer involved in the incident was reportedly a “clone” of another car that was sold from the local car dealership, A Star Motors Pte Ltd, last September 2023.

Speaking to MS News, Kree, a director at Star Motors, said that the female customer who had bought the car from received a police summon last month for driving off from a petrol station without paying.

However, after the police compared CCTV footage of the incident with her car, they realised that they were not the same cars. The other car bore the same licence plate number but had different wheels and accessories.

Kree added that the customer also received summons for speeding incidents that were not commited by the customer.

The police were not able to trace the car. However, Maurice had spotted the car twice in Yishun prior to the incident and had reported it to the police.

Cloned car spotted in Yishun

On 28 May, when he was on his way home, Maurice spotted the car and decided to follow it, sharing his live location to Kree and the police.

He tailed the car from Yishun to Yio Chu Kang, then to Woodlands, and finally to Admiralty Road. Kree explained that the driver had at some point noticed Maurice following behind and had decided to speed up, “beating red lights, driving dangerously”.

Kree also left his office to help Maurice and the police to catch the driver. He tried to stop traffic at Riverside Road Junction, but the Mitsubishi Lancer fled. It wasn’t until Admiralty Road that they, together with the police, managed to block the traffic and catch the driver.

During the scuffle, Maurice sustained some cuts in his arm and slightly injured his back but is now fine and recovering, Kree informed MS News.

Netizens have since praised their efforts in locating the cloned car and helping apprehend the driver.

Driver found in possession of weapons & tested positive for drugs

The 36-year-old driver was found to be wanted by the police and the Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB) for multiple offences, according to a statement by the Singapore Police Force (SPF) on 29 May.

A baton, a knuckle duster, a pocket knife, a bank card, seven cash cards, substances believed to be controlled drugs, and drug paraphernalia were seized from the vehicle.

The driver’s urine also tested positive for controlled drugs.

He will be charged on 30 May with rash conduct and possession of weapons.

“It is an offence to carry an offensive weapon in a public place or possess any scheduled weapon,” the statement added. Channel News Asia (CNA) reports that the offence is punishable by a maximum jail term of five years at at least 6 strokes of the cane.

Additionally, the police will seek to detain him for investigation into offences including driving without a valid licence, using a deregistered vehicle, and fraudulent possession of property.

Also read: JB customs officer chases S’pore-registered car as it speeds off right after gantry is lifted

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Featured image adapted from Singapore Road Accidents on Facebook, SG Road Vigilante on Facebook