Liow: Motorists will not be charged twice for same offence

THURSDAY, APRIL 20 KUALA LUMPUR- Transport Minister Liow Tiong Lai(pic) launches Klang Valley Double Track (KVDT) Project at Kuala Lumpur Sentral at 1000 (0200 GMT) KUALA LUMPUR- Media briefing on Employees Provident Fund Annual Report 2016, Multipurpose Hall, Level 26, EPF Headquarters, Jalan Raja Laut, 50350 Kuala Lumpur at 1430 (0630 GMT)

KUALA LUMPUR: Road users will not be charged in court twice for a single offence registered under both the traffic offence demerit system (Kejara) and the Automatic Enforcement System (AES).

Transport Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai (pic) said he had instructed the Road Transport Department (JPJ) to provide clearer explanations to the public on how their offences are processed.

"Some information is already on the JPJ website but more explanation is needed.

"Kejara was announced in stages since last year and we want the public to be aware that we've given a long trial period," he told reporters after launching the Klang Valley Double Track (KVDT) project Thursday.

Liow said Kejara was currently used for two offences - traffic and speeding, but will be expanded to other offences in future.

"The deduction of points is only under the Kejara system.

"The public should not confuse police and JPJ enforcement because it is different from Kejara," he said.

Kejara and AES, which is a network of cameras capturing vehicle users who break the speed limit, jointly form the Automatic Awareness System (Awas).

Previously, an Opposition lawyer had claimed Awas was against the principle of legal justice with regard to 'double jeopardy' as stated in Article 7(2) of the Federal Constitution.

However, Liow denied any "double jeopardy" in the punishment for traffic offences.

"All this is already addressed in the JPJ Act. There is no double jeopardy, because the Act states we can issue a summons and demerit points.

"Double jeopardy is when you are charged in court twice for the same offence, which is not the case here. Offenders will only be charged in court once for an offence," he said.

Liow called on the public to not panic or be confused by the matter, and assured them that JPJ and the ministry will provide more details.

On how road users can check their demerit points, Liow said it was currently emailed to offenders.

"After the online system has been upgraded, all demerit points can be checked online," he said.