City Hall removes piles of used tyres from Inanam, Likas
Published on: Tuesday, May 23, 2023
By: Sidney Skinner
An Environmental Health Officer with City Hall squats down to see if there are any fluids trapped inside these tyres in Plaza Juta.
CITY Hall has removed piles of used tyres from some commercial centres in Inanam and Likas – as well as villages in Inanam and Manggatal – and warned rate-payers that they could find themselves RM1,000 poorer if they are caught disposing of these items in the common areas at these locations.A spokeswoman for the agency’s Environmental Health Department said a fine for up to this amount could be imposed on them under the Local Government Ordinance 1961 (Amendment 2000).
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“The tyres could trigger potential dengue outbreaks in the surrounding areas,” she said.
Larviciding was carried out in the Kg Warisan area
“Any pockets of water inside could become a habitat for Aedes mosquitoes and we want to proactively prevent this from happening.”
As such, City Hall had been instructing its rate-payers to refrain from re-purposing tyres as make-shift planters or using them to hold their rubbish bins in place, according to her.
She said the agency also frowned on the use of these items to block-off parking spaces on road-shoulders.
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“Non-compliance may see the offenders facing court action. If the magistrate finds them guilty, they could become liable for the fine.
“Alternatively, the wrongdoers may have to spend up to six months behind bars for creating a breeding ground for mosquitoes which could become a public nuisance.”
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The spokeswoman said its Vector Control Division staff noticed an inordinate number of used tyres strewn about the HSK Industrial Centre at Mile 6 ½ Jalan Tuaran, near the Inanam Business Centre, around Plaza Juta in Likas, Kg Warisan and Kg Suang Parai earlier this month.
They had been participating in an anti-dengue operation at the time, together with officers from the “Pejabat Kesihatan Kota Kinabalu (Kota Kinabalu Health Office)”, according to her.
A City Hall worker rolls away a used tyre from among those which had been strewn near the abandoned lorries in Plaza Juta.
The spokeswoman said said the public living, or working, in proximity to where the tyres had been found were queried about these items.
“None of them acknowledged that the tyres were theirs. Nevertheless, they were given a stern warning to refrain from doing this.
“Piles of these items were found inside some abandoned lorries in one part of Plaza Juta.
“Our Enforcement Department has been made aware about the presence of the dumped automobiles”
In cases where the tyres had been spotted on private property, the spokeswoman said, the premises’ owners would be notified to deal with these items before Aedes mosquitoes began breeding inside.
“A follow-up check of these various locations will be made at a later date to determine if the problem involving the tyres still persists. Further action will be taken if this is so.”
A spokesman for the City Hall’s Solid Waste Management Department said a team of its workers and an open truck were deployed to the five locations shortly after the operation.
“They removed about 20 tyres in all from the public spaces in these areas over a two-day period,” he said.
“When they went to the Suang Parai area, they even helped to dig out the refuse which had become wedged in some of the roadside drains.”
He said anyone caught disposing of their rubbish indiscriminately – including used tyres – risked being served with a compound for as much as RM500, per the agency’s Anti-Litter By-laws 1984.
In extreme cases, the culprits could wind up in court, according to him.
“If found guilty, they face the possibility of being slapped with a fine for as much as RM10,000.”
A spokesman for the Kota Kinabalu Health Office said a “larviciding” exercise was carried out in those parts of Kg Warisan where the used tyres were strewn.
He said a compound of up to RM500 could be issued if larvae was detected in any fluids found in these items.
“The wrong-doers could be deemed to have created a potential habitat for mosquitoes, under the Destruction of Disease-bearing Insects Act 1975 (Amendment 2002),” he said.
“They will initially be asked to get rid of the objects in which the insects were spawning.”
Section 8 of the ordinance stipulates that “a Medical Officer of Health or an inspector may in writing order the owner or occupier of any premises… to collect and remove empty tins, cans, bottles or other receptacles in which diseasebearing insects may breed”.
Any person who…fails or neglects to comply with any written order… shall be guilty of an offence.
The spokesman said first time offenders risked being slapped with a RM10,000 fine, a two year jail-term or both. Repeat offenders, on the other hand, faced the possibility of having to shoulder a RM50,000 fine, serve a five year prison sentence or both, according to him.
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