These are drivers who try to cheat the system by not displaying valid parking coupons or by illegally parking their cars.
Madam Tan confesses: "I feel so bad to show up before these people can finish their food. The minute I arrive, they panic, abandon their lunches and run to their cars.
"Some would call out to me, 'Tolong aunty, give chance! Give me five minutes to eat.'"
To which, Madam Tan would reply: "You spend at least five minutes waiting to have your food order taken, 10 minutes for your food to be served, another 10 minutes to eat and five minutes to go to the toilet. Why don't you display a 50-cent coupon?"
She is familiar with all the excuses that these drivers come up with. But she can only tell them that she has a job to do, and she is being "watched" to make sure she does it.
Madam Tan reveals that hotspots targeted by enforcement officers are usually those at neighbourhood centres and car park lots near popular coffee shops and Singapore Pools outlets.
For instance, she has caught many offenders at the car parks of Block 632, 633 and 634 at Bukit Batok Central.
There is not one car park in Singapore that is not checked by enforcement officers, says Madam Tan, not even "ulu" (deserted and far-flung) residential estates.
"We get a basic salary of less than $800 a month but we get incentives like transport allowance and performance bonus. Good performance does not mean issuing more tickets. It is about reporting to work on time, getting no complaints or appeals for the tickets issued."
That is why Madam Tan is always careful when issuing tickets to offenders.
She confesses: "I would rather cancel the ticket than to have the driver file an appeal or file a complaint against me later, which reflects badly on my work performance.
"But once a ticket has been issued, there is no way for me to cancel it on the spot."
That said, she issues an average of 30 tickets a day.
She is numb to the verbal abuse hurled at her by these drivers every day. There are also those who threaten her.
Some have even knocked her down with their vehicles - all over a $30 fine, says Madam Tan, showing this reporter the scars on her arms and legs.
All they have to do, says Madam Tan, is to explain to her why they did not display a valid parking coupon. She would then keys in their comments into her electronic system.
When these drivers send in their appeals later, chances of their fines being waived are much higher as there are already records of their explanations with the authorities, she explains.
ORIGINAL SOURCE
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