ANDREAS had three chances to come clean that he had insufficient motor spirit below the three-quarter tank mark - but he refused.

Instead, he kept insisting to the officer who checked him that his fuel tank was full.

On Tuesday, he was fined $500 for failing to have the minimum three-quarter tank of motor spirit in his car's fuel tank when trying to leave Singapore for Malaysia on Dec 1 and and jailed two weeks for giving false information to the officer inspecting the fuel gauge.

At the Woodlands Checkpoint, he was asked twice by an Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA) officer if he had at least three-quarter tank of petrol.

On both times, Andreas maintained that the fuel gauge reading was correct.

The ICA officer noticed a remote control found in the car suspected to be used for tampering with the fuel gauge reading. He asked Andreas for the third and final time whether the fuel gauge had been tampered. Again, Andreas vehemently denied it.

The remote control was subsequently activated, and the fuel indicator moved downwards towards the 'empty' level, indicating that the fuel level was well below the three-quarter mark.

Andreas was arrested by Singapore Customs and charged in court on Dec 2.

Tampering with the fuel gauge of the vehicle so that it gives a false reading that the amount of fuel in the fuel tank is three-quarters full is a serious offence.

Singapore Customs has prosecuted seven drivers for tampering with their car fuel gauges since 2006.

All were convicted and fined and jailed.

Andreas is the fourth person to be convicted of the offence this year.

Since 2006, more than 7,370 motorists had been fined for not having at least three-quarter tank of petrol when leaving Singapore, said the Singapore Customs and ICA in a joint release on Friday.

Under the law, Singapore-registered cars must have at least three-quarter tank of petrol when departing Singapore. Motorists are advised against any attempts to infringe the rule given the stringent checks at the checkpoints.

Those caught with less than three-quarter tank of petrol can be fined up to $500.