Man held in Curepe roadblock, charged for alleged fake tint exemption
Written by Jada Loutoo on November 4, 2024
A 23-year-old man who allegedly presented a fake tint exemption to licensing officers in a roadblock on November 1 has been granted $90,000 own bail by a High Court master.
Kavir Maharaj appeared before Master Shabiki Cazabon on November 4, on two counts of forgery and two counts of uttering a forged document.
He was granted his own bail and ordered to report to the police station in his district on the last Saturday of every month. A sufficiency hearing has been set for October 5, 2025.
Maharaj was represented by Keron Ramkhalwhan. The prosecutor was PC Maraj and he was charged by PC Chaz Khan.
It is alleged on November 1, during a roadblock on the Churchill Roosevelt Highway near KFC in Curepe, licensing officers stopped Maharaj and asked if he had permission to drive the Nissan AD wagon with an alleged non-prescribed tint. He allegedly presented a tint exemption for the vehicle and an exemption certificate.
It is alleged licensing officers initially accepted the documents as genuine, but on further verification deemed them fake.
Maharaj’s car was then impounded, he was taken to the licensing office in Caroni and the Transport Commissioner’s office made a report to the Fraud Squad.
Maharaj was charged on November 4.
In July, the office of the Transport Commissioner under the Ministry of Works and Transport warned drivers the new Motor Vehicles and Road Traffic (Windscreen and Window Tint) Regulations 2020 were coming into force. The office and the ministry encouraged drivers to acquaint themselves with all provisions of the law.
At a media briefing on July 30, National Security Minister Fitzgerald Hinds said the law was aimed at bolstering road safety and security. He also said it was part of the ministry’s fight against criminal elements, noting the role of heavily tinted vehicles in criminal activity.
At the time, full-scale enforcement of the law was expected to take place by early September. The ministry embarked on a public education campaign to familiarise drivers with the regulations.
Drivers are expected to face a $2,000 fine and three demerit points if their vehicle does not meet the light transmittance requirement permitted by the new regulations.
Failure to maintain windscreen or windows free from scratches can also land them a $450 fine.
Regulation 3(1) of the act says the minimum levels of visible light transmittance (VLT) for the windscreen should be at least 70 per cent. The windscreen’s anti-glare bandwidth, which is six inches or 15 centimetres from the top, should be at least 35 per cent. The VLT for front windows (driver and passenger) should be at least 35 per cent, the rear windows (including side windows) at least 20 per cent and the rear windscreen at least 20 per cent.
The regulations also require drivers to seek permission from the Licensing Authority to coat windscreens or windows with any material, overlay or other products. The regulations allow for medical and general exemptions approved by the authority.
At the launch of the operalisation of the law, Transport Commissioner Clive Clarke said the measure introduced standardised methods of assessing tint levels using tint meters.
He said tint shops and inspection stations had the tools and devices to help determine whether vehicles had a permissible tint level.
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