Wife hit with $1,320 in parking fines, over 50 letters and a court summons for ‘mystery car’ she doesn’t own
A 70-year-old man is baffled after his wife, who neither owns nor drives a car, received at least 19 parking fines totalling $1,320 over the past year for a “mystery car” the couple has never owned.
To make matters worse, the 66-year-old woman received more than 50 letters, including payment reminders, and was even summoned to appear in court.
Mr Wang (transliterated), a delivery driver, told Shin Min Daily News that his wife began receiving HDB parking fines in September 2025.
“Neither of us owns a car, and our two sons and daughter have not bought cars either. It is really baffling,” he said.
According to the notices he provided, the fines involved a car with a registration number ending in 7965Y, which had allegedly been parked illegally without a valid parking coupon.
Wang said he had driven a car in 2024, but its registration number was 4155. Its Certificate of Entitlement (COE) had only six months remaining at the time, and the car has since been scrapped.
“My wife has a driving licence, but she has never driven a car. The last time we bought a car was more than 20 years ago,” he said.
The couple made a police report in October 2025. His wife lodged another report on the evening of Oct 12.
Receives more than 50 reminder letters
According to the documents provided by Wang, his wife received at least 19 parking fines. The last recorded offence involving the car was on March 25.
After receiving the fines, she also began receiving red reminder notices and at least 17 yellow final reminder notices, which serve as a final warning to pay the fines.
“Over the past year, we have received a huge stack of letters — more than 50 in total,” Wang said.
According to the police report records he provided, his wife had contacted the Land Transport Authority (LTA), which confirmed that the vehicle was not registered in her name.
She also clarified with HDB that she was not the vehicle’s owner.
Wang recalled: “At one point, a staff member told us that if the car did not belong to my wife, she did not need to pay attention to the fines.
“We also raised the matter with our Member of Parliament (MP) at least three times, and the MP helped us make enquiries.”
He said the ordeal had left his wife struggling to sleep.
“We are just ordinary citizens. We have not broken the law, and we certainly do not have the money to pay these fines,” he said.
A check on HDB’s website by Shin Min found at least 19 parking fines linked to the vehicle, issued between Sept 19, 2025 and Feb 5, 2026. The total amount came to about $1,320.
According to checks by Stomp, HDB’s website states that there are no outstanding parking fines for the vehicle number as of Oct 13.
Authorities investigating the matter
Wang said his wife was also summoned to appear in court on Nov 2 over the accumulated fines.
“We do not know how to explain the situation to the judge, and we do not understand why she has to appear in court,” he said.
Madam Wang told Shin Min that she believed some of the fines had been cancelled, leaving nine outstanding.
Shin Min Daily News understands that the authorities had informed her about two weeks ago that she could disregard the fines and did not need to attend court.
The matter is also being investigated by the authorities.
‘Mystery car’ repeatedly spotted at three carparks
According to Shin Min, the fines incurred by the “mystery car” were concentrated at three open-air carparks:
- Block 19 Toa Payoh Lorong 6
- Near Block 91 Toa Payoh Lorong 3
- Block 18 Jalan Sultan
The carparks previously allowed motorists to use parking coupons.
Madam Wang claimed that the vehicle had allegedly been caught parking illegally three times in the same carpark within a single day.
A Shin Min reporter visited the carpark in Toa Payoh Lorong 6 to look for the vehicle but could not find it.
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