JOHOR BARU: Five litterbugs have become among the first people in the country to carry out community service under the newly imposed anti-littering law.
Johor health and environment committee chairman Ling Tian Soon said the group was among 89 people caught littering following the implementation of Section 77A of the Solid Waste and Public Cleansing Management Act 2007.
"Of the number, five were charged in court and began their community service today," he told a press conference after an inspection around the Stulang Laut area here on Friday (Feb 13).
"Investigations are still ongoing for the other cases and we expect to be able to charge them within the next six months."
He added that of the 89 cases, 52 involved locals and 37 were foreigners, from Bangladesh, Indonesia and Singapore among other countries.
"We hope that this will serve as a reminder to them and others not to throw rubbish as they please," he said, adding that it would also help with the state government's Johor Bersih (Clean Johor) agenda.
Full enforcement of offences under Section 77A of the Act was implemented from 12.01am on Jan 1.
Under the law, offenders may be fined up to RM2,000, and the court may also impose a community service order within a timeframe of up to six months, involving work not exceeding 12 hours in total.
