THE other day, I became a wanted criminal. I opened my mailbox and discovered, to my horror, that a warrant of arrest had been issued against me.

I immediately turned myself in at a police station and had to be locked up for about 20 minutes before my friend could bail me out.

No, I did not rape, rob or murder. I did not do anything. And that was precisely why I became a wanted man. I did not pay a traffic fine.

Before you accuse me of being so stupid as to think that I can get away with not paying a $70 fine, let me tell you that I am not.

In fact, I am smart - and technologically savvy - enough to know that I can pay my traffic fines electronically through those automated machines found all over Singapore.

Unfortunately, I did not realise:

1. That there are two different types of machines - Nets machines and SAM machines.
2. That there are four different types of traffic fines - from the Urban Redevelopment Authority, the Housing and Development Board, the Land Transport Authority and the Traffic Police.
3. That the SAM machines, which I normally use, accept the first three types of fines but do not accept fines imposed by the Traffic Police.

This was what happened...

Some months back, I had parked my car along a road that had a white line in the middle. I knew it was illegal but I took the chance since I was just going to take a short while. I returned 10 minutes later to find a traffic summons on my windscreen. Shucks!

Later, I went to a SAM machine near my office to pay my fines.

These machines are great. All you need to do is key in your car registration number and a whole list of fines appears on the screen.

You touch the screen at the correct places, insert your bank ATM card, key in your personal identification number and the money is automatically deducted.

I had quite a few fines to pay at that time. The total came to nearly $200 and I was glad to have settled everything. Or so I thought.

Unknown to me, the Traffic Police fine was still unpaid. Because it was not reflected in the SAM machine.

A reminder came a few days later, warning me that if I did not pay up I would have to go to court.

I went to the machine to check and it showed no records of any unpaid fines. I ignored the reminder, thinking it might have been sent before I paid.

Then came the warrant of arrest. Boy, was I shocked.

When I related the incident to my lawyer friends, their first reaction was to remind me: ''Ignorance of the law is no excuse''.

But I was not ignorant of the law. I was ignorant of the finer workings of the electronic cashless payment system. Well, the judge did not buy this argument and he fined me $600!

Excuses aside, all this would not have happened if the Traffic Police had simply been linked to the SAM system.

Right now, it is offering the convenience of electronic payment in only a limited way. To say the least, it has caused me great inconvenience.