Long Sa Kow, 64, pleaded guilty to displaying a vehicle registration plate that did not belong to his car after the charge was read before magistrate R Salini, Berita Harian reported.

He faces nine months in prison if he fails to pay the fine.

Long was charged with committing the offence at a petrol station in Batu 21 1/4, Jalan Johor Bahru-Ayer Hitam in Kulai at around 10.30pm on Jan 2.

The charge under Section 108(3)(e) of the Road Transport Act 1987 is punishable by a maximum RM20,000 fine, up to five years in prison or both, upon conviction.

Lawyer Sharmaine Fairuz Zulkifli of the National Legal Aid Foundation sought a minimum penalty for the convict, saying he was his family’s breadwinner but did not have a fixed income.

She also said her client has three children, two of whom were still schooling, and that this was his first offence.

Deputy public prosecutor S Thiviya asked the court to impose a commensurate sentence that would warn others against committing the offence.