JPJ probes claims of vehicle number plates being transferred without owners’ knowledge

GEORGE TOWN, April 17 — The Road Transport Department (JPJ) has confirmed receiving several complaints regarding alleged transfers of ownership of unique vehicle registration numbers without the original owners’ knowledge.

JPJ director-general Datuk Aedy Fadly Ramli said the department will conduct detailed investigations before taking any action.

“Any reports received would be investigated in accordance with existing procedures and legal provisions to verify the validity of the claims,” he told reporters after launching a special vehicle registration number series at The Top here today.

“There have been several complaints related to ownership transfers carried out without the consent of the original owner,” he added.

He said JPJ will carry out investigations and take appropriate action based on existing procedures and laws.

He said JPJ will assist affected owners, but any further action will depend on the procedures of the ownership transfer itself.

“Investigations must be conducted first, and we need to identify the relevant legal provisions that can be applied,” he said.

“There is a possibility that the allegation is inaccurate, for example, an owner may believe the number belongs to them when in fact it had already been legally transferred previously,” he added.

Elaborating, Aedy said the issue is not solely due to data theft but may involve multiple factors, including the processes and procedures governing ownership transfers.

He said JPJ needs to verify whether the transfer process was carried out legally or otherwise.

“JPJ cannot arbitrarily take action, such as returning the number to the original owner, without a thorough investigation,” he said.

At the same time, he did not rule out the possibility of internal involvement in certain cases, but stressed that careful investigations must be conducted before any conclusions are drawn.

“I do not deny that possibility, but we cannot jump to conclusions so investigations must be conducted on a case-by-case basis,” he added.

It was recently reported that a car rental business owner allegedly found the registration number of his company’s Toyota Alphard was transferred without his consent after it was rented out to a car rental agent in January.

The vehicle bore the popular and unique registration number “P111” and was allegedly taken to a used car showroom in Puchong, Selangor without his knowledge.