Indian-origin man admits taking driving tests illegally in UK

London, Jun 28 (PTI) An Indian-origin fraudster faces a jail term after admitting to illegally taking over 36 driving theory tests on behalf of other people who could not speak English in different parts of England.

Satwinder Singh, 34, is said to have pocketed up to GBP 1,500 each time he took the test which costs just GBP 23, The Reading Chronicle’ newspaper reported this week.

Singh was found to have taken so many tests, including in the Reading area of southern England, over four years that the UK’s Driving and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) put out his picture at test centres in an attempt to catch him.

He was arrested earlier this month when he tried to take a test at Reading, holding a driving licence under the name of Amritpal Singh.

A member of staff at the test centre allowed the suspect to take the test while she called the police, the newspaper said. Prosecutor Deborah Specter told the court after the arrest that Satwinder Singh had admitted offences of impersonating genuine test candidates for payment at test centres.

“The profits made by people involved in this activity by impersonation are huge and often could be described as organised crime. Genuine candidates can be expected to pay up to GBP 1,500 for a GBP 23 test. This is because the genuine candidate often cannot speak or understand English,” Specter told the court.

Satwinder Singh, from Swansea in Wales, had reportedly been noted in centres around the UK since May 10, 2019, when he was spotted at a theory test centre in Kingston, Surrey.

Appearing at Reading Magistrates Court this week, Singh admitted fraud by false representation and possessing an article, the driving licence, for use in fraud.

He accepted he had intended to deceive staff into believing he was Amritpal Singh in order to take a driving theory test under that name.

Singh also admitted to 35 other similar offences to be taken into consideration ahead of his sentencing.

The other test centres he is believed to have targeted were in locations including Manchester, Sheffield, Southgate, Oxford, Aylesbury, Guildford, Staines and Bristol, the newspaper report said.

His case will come up for sentencing at a later date. Meanwhile, Singh has been bailed on the condition that he does not attend any driving theory test centres.