SINGAPORE - A man who rigged an illegal exhaust system to his motorcycle became the first person to be sentenced under stricter laws for such offences.

Muhammad Arif Affandi, 31, was fined $1,200 on Tuesday (March 1) for committing an offence under the Road Traffic Act.

Land Transport Authority (LTA) prosecutor Ng Jun Kai said in court documents on Tuesday that an LTA officer caught Arif using a motorcycle fitted with an illegal exhaust system on Nov 17, 2020.

To pass a vehicle inspection he was subsequently required to go for on Nov 24, 2020, Arif borrowed a compliant exhaust system from a friend.

He passed the inspection and was offered a composition fine of $500, which he paid.

Afterwards, he returned the exhaust system to his friend and refitted the illegal one on his motorcycle.

On July 15, 2021, at about 1.20am, an LTA officer performing enforcement checks along Jelapang Road spotted his motorcycle.

The officer suspected it to have an illegal exhaust system and asked for it to be sent for inspection.

The inspection conducted two days later revealed that the motorcycle was fitted with an illegal exhaust system.

Arif left, and about two hours later returned for his vehicle inspection and managed to pass it.

Court documents do not reveal how he managed to pass the second inspection.

Stricter laws came into affect on July 1 last year, as part of the amendment to the Road Traffic Act.

The composition sum issued to first-time offenders was doubled from $500 to $1,000.

In a speech in Parliament in May last year, Senior Minister of State for Transport Amy Khor had said: "We will also not hesitate to take offenders of more egregious cases to court, even if they are first time offenders.

"Furthermore, for repeat offenders, LTA will apply to the court to detain the offending vehicle for up to three months."

A first time offender can be fined up to $5,000 and jailed for up to three months.

Repeat offenders can be fined up to $10,000 and jailed for up to six months.