LITTERBUGS at commercial centres and towns within City Hall’s rating area collectively paid RM3,140 in on-the-spot compounds issued as part of the agency’s “Ops Bersih” over the past two months.
A spokesman for the agency’s Solid Waste Management Department (SWMD) said RM2,500 was accrued in October and a further RM640 in September.
“A total of 162 errant individuals were taken to task during this period,” he said.
“About 157 of them settled their compounds right away, while five others elected to do this within the allotted grace-period.”
He said the wrong-doers were spotted disposing of their rubbish, including cigarette butts, indiscriminately.
A compound of up to RM500 could be imposed against anyone found to be contravening City Hall’s (Anti-Litter) By-laws 1984 (Amendment 2005), according to him.
He said four to five SWMD inspectors in plain clothes carried out 125 separate inspections between September and October.
Eighty-five of these checks were made between October 1 and October 31, with the Department’s staff going to properties within the City Centre, as well as those in areas ranging from Tanjung Aru to Manggatal.
He said those in Kota Kinabalu, included the shophouses in Bandaran Berjaya, Kg Air, Sinsuran and Segama, including the waterfront where City Hall’s jetty is located.
The common areas around KK Plaza, Centre Point Sabah and the Api-Api Centre were also kept under surveillance, according to him.
“The highest number of litterbugs was nabbed around the waterfront (27), followed by Centre Point Sabah (16), as well as five each at Bandaran Berjaya and the Api-Api Centre.
When it came to areas outside the City limits, the spokesman said the SWMD team went to Damai Plaza, Damai Point, Sadong Jaya, Plaza Juta, Likas Plaza, Inanam Taipan, EG Mall, Kingfisher Plaza, 1 Borneo Hypermall, Alam Mesra, University Plaza, the mini Putrajaya Administrative Complex, Manggatal Plaza, Salut Commercial Centre and the shops at Taman Fajar and Kingfisher Riverside.
Checks were also made in the Tanjung Aru, Lido, Inanam and Manggatal townships.
Mini Putrajaya was the location with the most offenders, in this instance, with 13 litterbugs caught around the different blocks here, according to the spokesman said.
This was followed, he said, by Damai Point and Damai Plaza, where 12 errant individuals in total were nabbed. He said seven were taken to task around the EG Mall.
“SWMD inspectors noticed that an illegal dump had sprung up near the bin-centre for the Salut Commercial Centre.
“Four culprits were caught red-handed disposing of their rubbish haphazardly on two separate occasions in October. Instead of placing their bagged waste properly into the communal bins, they flung them at the in the general direction of the bin-centre and this refuse landed on the floor.”
The spokesman said 40 “Ops Bersih” inspections were made between September 2 and September 29.
“The Yu Sang shops in Kepayan had the most offenders among those properties outside Kota Kinabalu in September, with seven being taken to task here. This was followed by Kingfisher Plaza and University Plaza, where five each were nabbed. Four were caught around Damai Plaza.”
When it came to the City Centre, the highest number of litterbugs was nabbed around Kg Air (4), followed by Kg Centre Point Sabah and the Segama Waterfront, where three each were caught.”
