Ministry of Transportation and Communications officials yesterday said they have compiled a “black list” of people who have been caught using forged license plates, while Highway Bureau officials pledged to improve deterrence measures, after a DPP lawmaker highlighted an increase in such cases.
The ministry officials also said in a statement that those caught using counterfeit license plates could be charged with forgery and face a fine of up to NT$10,800.
The ministry’s statement came after Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Lee Kun-tse (李昆澤) criticized the ministry’s Motor Vehicles Offices for negligence and having a lax approach to dealing with the issue of license plate forgeries.
Screengrab from Lee’s facebook page.
The ministry should implement measures to make it more difficult to counterfeit license plates, while Motor Vehicles Offices must collaborate with law enforcement agencies to set up deterrent mechanisms, including creating a database of previous offenders, and other preventative measures, Lee said.
When questioning ministry officials at a legislative session last month, Lee cited figures from the ministry’s Highway Bureau (公路局), which showed that counterfeit license plate incidents have climbed from 519 in 2022, to 924 last year, and 827 in the first five months of this year.
“By the rate it is going, there might be more than 2,000 incidents by the end of this year,” Lee said.
“Many innocent people have received fines due to somebody else using their license plate number. So it has become a threat to public security,” Lee said.
Highway Bureau officials in a news statement said the current license plate already contains a number of features to deter counterfeiting, adding that it would implement new features to prevent counterfeiting.
The bureau also said it would consult with relevant agencies and experts for recommendations on how to strengthen deterrence and efficiently compensate people who fell victim to having their license plates forged.
“When we have found online platforms selling fake license plates, we immediately requested that the proprietors remove them, and followed up on our enquiries to ensure they have been removed, the bureau said, adding that they also asked the National Police Agency to trace the source producers so they could be prosecuted.
Highway Bureau officials urged the public not to purchase fake license plates from online platforms as it is illegal and they would face prosecution.
Proprietors of sites on social media have agreed to cooperate with government agencies to help shut down such advertisements.
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