Littering: Over 150 smokers taken to task
Published on: Wednesday, July 03, 2024
By: Sidney Skinner
The highest number of errant smokers, nabbed between April and June, were spotted around the Segama Waterfront.
SOME 153 smokers were taken to task for littering around the commercial centres, public areas and government buildings under City Hall’s jurisdiction over the past three months.
Officers with the agency’s Solid Waste Management Department (SWMD) collected a total of RM2,500 in compounds from these errant individuals during checks made as part of its “Ops Bersih” endeavours since April.
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A SWMD spokesman said RM1,040 was accrued in April, RM880 in May and a further RM580 in June.
He said the wrong-doers were all were caught red-handed, flicking their cigarette butts into their surroundings, instead of throwing this waste into a bin.
“Sixty-six smokers were nabbed in April, 59 in May and another 28 last month,” he said.
A smoker receives a compound for indiscriminately disposing of his cigarette butts on this road in the city.
“Some 121 of them settled their compounds right away, while 32 others elected to do this within the allotted grace-period.”
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A compound of up to RM500 could be imposed against anyone found to be contravening City Hall’s Anti-Litter ByLaws 1984 (Amendment 2005), according to him.
He said those who repeatedly disregarded the agency’s calls to refrain from littering in the common areas could wind up having legal action taken against them.
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“They will become liable to a fine for as much as RM10,000, if they are found guilty in court.”
He said four to five SWMD inspectors in plain clothes carried out 33 separate inspections between April 2 and June 20.
These checks involved properties within the City Centre, as well as those in areas ranging from Inanam to the shophouses near Taman Fortuna, according to him.
He said those in Kota Kinabalu, included the shophouses in Bandaran Berjaya, Kg Air, Asia City, Sinsuran and Segama, as well as the Central Market, the Segama Waterfront and Centre Point Sabah.
“The highest number of litterbugs was nabbed around Segama Waterfront (41), followed by Centre Point (23) and Bandaran Berjaya (21).
“When it came to areas outside the City limits, the spokesman said the SWMD team went to the Taman Fortuna shops, Riverside Plaza, Sadong Jaya, Damai Plaza, the shops along Jalan Teluk Likas, the Likas Public Park, Kingfisher Plaza, the Mini Putrajaya Federal Administrative Complex, Alam Mesra, Inanam and the EG Mall.
“Mini Putrajaya was the location with the most offenders, in this instance, with 14 litter-bugs caught in this area outside the National Registration Department office.
“This was followed by the EG Mall, in Inanam, where 12 wrong-doers were nabbed. Six others were taken to task around the Alam Mesra shops.”
He said a proprietor at the Riverside Plaza was compounded for piling up his/her unwanted belongings in the common area behind his/her premises.
“Another at Kingfisher Plaza received a stern warning for illegally occupying the five-footway near his/her units.”
Litterbugs risk being compounded up to RM500 under City Hall’s Anti-Litter Bylaws 1984.
The spokesman said RM3,020 in compounds was collected during “Ops Bersih” exercises in February and March, with RM2,300 was accrued in the former month and RM720 in the latter.
“A total of 193 smokers were caught by our officers between February and March.
“About 150 of them settled their compounds right away, while 43 others elected to do this within the allotted grace-period.”
In January, the “Ops”-team compounded a total of 403 litterbugs from whom City Hall collected RM6,480, according to the spokesman.
He said 399 of those nabbed in that month were smokers, while four offenders were taken to task for indiscriminately disposing of their garbage in the common area.
“Some of this number were shop-operators who were piling up their unwanted items on the five-foot-way outside their units.”
He said 329 of the litterbugs settled their compounds on-the-spot, while 74 others were given a grace-period in which to do so.”
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