LTA officers raid shop in Aljunied, seize 11 illegal mobility devices

Over 600 non-compliant mobility devices seized between January and August: LTA

- Vanessa Paige Chelvan

Land Transport Authority (LTA) officers on Sept 15 raided a shop in Aljunied suspected of selling non-compliant active mobility devices, which have been involved in an increasing number of fires in the last few years.

By the end of the bust, which The Straits Times was invited to observe, 11 illegal devices were seized.

LTA said the retailer had committed 19 offences, including the display of non-compliant power-assisted bicycles, or e-bikes, for sale.

More than 600 non-compliant mobility devices were seized between January and August 2025, LTA said on Sept 16.

In the same period, LTA's raids caught seven retailers for selling illegal mobility devices. These retailers had committed about 30 offences for selling non-compliant devices, LTA said.

Such non-compliant devices pose severe fire risks. In the first eight months of 2025, there were 37 fires involving mobility devices.

In 2024, 67 blazes involved mobility devices, up from 55 in 2023 and 42 in 2022.

There have been eight fire-related deaths in 2025 so far, compared with three in 2023 and five in 2024.

In a Facebook post on Sept 16, LTA said a recent fire involved a battery sold by an online secondhand source instead of an authorised retailer.

This would void the safety certification of the device and pose a significant fire risk.

Common illegal modifications of mobility devices include the changing of electrical parts such as the battery and electric motor with third-party or non-original versions, added LTA.