KUALA LUMPUR: Another five individuals who were caught littering in public areas here found themselves taking up the role of street cleaners on Thursday following a court order compelling them to community service.
The offenders, who comprised four locals, including a woman and a foreign national aged between 26 and 59, were not only fined RM1,500 by the courts but were also required to carry out four hours of community service.
This was a penalty for committing littering offences under the Solid Waste Management and Public Cleansing Act 2007.
The litterbugs were caught in the act by undercover enforcement officers of the Solid Waste and Public Cleansing Management Corporation (SWCorp) over the past month.
At about 8am, the offenders gathered at the Historical Triangle at Jalan Pudu before being tasked an hour later with cleaning work over a kilometre radius in the area covering Jalan Petaling, Jalan Sultan, Jalan Tun HS Lee and Jalan Leboh Pasar among other roads.
Under the close supervision of SWCorp officers, the offenders were ordered to sweep the streets, pick up litter, clear drains and clean public toilets
Their four-hour community service sentence ended at 1pm.
SWCorp chief executive officer Khalid Mohamed, who was at the site to oversee the exercise, said it was being carried out despite being the fasting month, as the court order had to be enforced within a month from the date it was issued.
Khalid said the enforcement exercise is the second series of community service carried out since an order from the Housing and Local Government Ministry to come down hard on litterbugs came into force on Jan 1 this year.
Khalid said the third phase of the exercise is scheduled to be carried out on March 28 and is expected to involve 119 offenders nationwide.
"Our enforcement officers closely monitor the exercise to ensure it complies with standard operating procedures, with safety and welfare aspects taken into account.
"The main goal of our enforcement is to cultivate a greater sense of responsibility among the public in managing waste and keeping the environment clean," he said.
Khalid said offenders were also provided with personal protective gear, such as safety vests and face masks, while carrying out their duties.
He said to date, SWCorp has issued 1,002 offence notification notices in seven states that have adopted the exercise.
Khalid said the notices were issued to 789 Malaysians and 213 foreign nationals.
He said in the Federal Territories alone, 210 notices were issued involving 122 Malaysians and 88 foreigners.
He said enforcing action against litterbugs has yielded positive results, as there is greater awareness among the public currently.
"In the beginning, the litter often disposed of indiscriminately were mainly food wrappers and containers, tissue paper and cigarette butts. However, recently, 90% of the cases involved cigarette butts.
"We will continue to strengthen enforcement actions consistently and firmly to ensure public spaces remain free from litter," Khalid said.
He added that community service is an alternative form of punishment aimed at rehabilitation and education, while encouraging offenders to take greater responsibility for maintaining public cleanliness.
