SINGAPORE: It should have been obvious it was a ruse when a man offered for sale "old" off-peak car supplementary licences at steep discounts on the social networking websites Friendster and Facebook. But some motorists looking for a bargain were still duped.

Police arrested the suspect on Sunday at a bus-stop in Petir Road with the fake licences. The 33-year-old man had allegedly printed the fakes in Vietnam and sold each booklet of 22 licences for $300, or $140 cheaper than the authentic one. He is believed to have sold about 1,400 such licences since February. Another 500 fake licences and almost $29,000 in cash were found when police raided his home.

Besides touting on the Internet, the suspect had six runners who left advertisements for the fake licences on the windscreens of off-peak cars in car parks. Police were alerted to the scam after a car owner lodged a report on April 13. The police and the Land Transport Authority (LTA) received complaints from 13 other motorists subsequently.

The telltale sign of the fake licence: It has only six serial numbers compared to eight on the authentic one. The colour on the fake licence is also duller than on the real one and the watermark is darker.

The suspect will be charged in court on Tuesday for cheating and may be jailed up to 10 years if convicted.

Off-peak car owners are required to display supplementary licences if they wish to drive their vehicles between 7am and 7pm on weekdays, and between 7am and 3pm on Saturdays and the eve of five public holidays (New Year, Chinese New Year, Hari Raya Puasa, Deepavali and Christmas). Each licence costs $20.

LTA's group director for Vehicle and Transit Licensing Jeremy Yap advised motorists to buy supplementary licences only from the LTA and authorised agents such as the Automobile Association of Singapore and Singapore Post. Drivers who have unused supplementary licences can also exchange them for cash at the LTA office, he added.

Motorists can call LTA at 1800-2255-582 for more information on the weekend car scheme. - TODAY/ar