21-year-old woman with no driving licence used mother's NRIC details to access car-sharing vehicles

SINGAPORE - A 21-year-old woman without a driving licence duped car-sharing company Tribecar into allowing her to rent a vehicle on 21 occasions last year by using her mother's NRIC details to create an account on the platform.

Kylie Lee Wen Hui pleaded guilty on Friday (July 22) to a charge each of cheating by personation and driving without a valid Class 3 licence.

Three other charges, including unauthorised access of data in a computer, will be taken into consideration for her sentencing on Sept 2.

District Judge Ronald Gwee called for Lee to be assessed for probation, which is usually offered to young offenders between 16 and 21 years old.

The sentence does not result in a criminal record but requires the offender to be supervised by a probation officer for a period of between six months and three years.

The court heard that Lee had obtained her 53-year-old mother's NRIC details through the latter's Singpass account in October last year.

She used it to create an account with Tribecar without her mother's knowledge or consent.

Between Oct 11 and Nov 4 last year, she rented a car on 21 occasions in her mother's name.

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Lee was caught when she was stopped for checks at a police roadblock in Seletar Aerospace Drive on Nov 4. A Traffic Police officer discovered then that she did not have a Class 3 driving licence.

When asked by the district judge why she had committed the offences, Lee said she had been influenced by her friends and was not thinking straight.

"I do blame myself for being influenced by them, but I am trying to do better," she added.

For each count of cheating by personation, an offender can be jailed for up to five years and fined.

The maximum penalty for driving without a valid licence is a three-year jail term and a $10,000 fine. Repeat offenders can face up to twice that punishment.

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