Eight people will be hauled to Court this Friday (3 Sept 10) for offences relating to motor vehicle insurance fraud.

The Commercial Affairs Department (CAD) received a report from an insurance company in 2009 after the insurer suspected fraudulent personal injuries claims made by a 38-year-old man for road traffic related accidents. Arising from the CAD investigation that followed, it was believed that the suspect had staged a road traffic accident to make insurance claims for damages and personal injury. He is alleged to have caused the accident by wilfully applying the brakes to abruptly slow down the car that he was driving, intending to cause a lorry which was approaching from behind to collide onto the rear of the car.

Seven other men, aged between 31 and 53, will also be charged after investigations revealed that they had made fraudulent motor vehicle injury claims against motor vehicle insurance companies. The suspects are believed to have conspired to cheat the insurers by engaging law firms to initiate personal injuries proceedings against the insurers, in order to deceive the insurers into believing that the suspects were passengers in motor vehicles which were involved in motor accidents.

All eight suspects will be charged in Court on 3 Sept 10 for the offence of Cheating under Sec 420 of the Penal Code Cap 224. Anyone convicted of Cheating faces imprisonment which may extend to 10 years and shall also be liable to a fine. The 38-year-old suspect in the first case faces an additional charge of Reckless Driving under Sec 64 of the Road Traffic Act Cap 276. If convicted, he is liable to a fine of up to $3,000 or to imprisonment for a term of up to 12 months or to both.

Director of the Commercial Affairs Department, Mr. Ong Hian Sun, cautioned, “Police take a very serious view of such offences. We will not hesitate to take firm action against perpetrators of such crimes.”