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THE Penampang Municipal Council reminded ratepayers to be more mindful about the condition of the greenery around their homes so as to ensure that the trees and grass in their compounds do not become a source of frustration to others in their neighbourhoods.

A spokesman for the agency said it had nothing against homeowners beautifying their yards with trees and other plants.

“They should, however, make the effort to tend to their greenery at regular intervals so that their compounds do not become an eye sore,” he said.  “The grass should be cut at least once a month, as should any creepers or branches which have grown over their fence and intruded into the neighbouring airspace.”

He said those who failed to heed this advice and repeatedly allowed their greenery to become a public nuisance risked being charged in court, under Section 49(c) of the Local Government Ordinance 1961.

If found guilty, they faced the possibility of having to settle a fine for as much as RM1,000, serve a jail term of up to six-months or both, according to him.

“We are considering the possibility of working with our legal team to begin court proceedings against negligent homeowners.”

He said a final warning, signed by the President, would be given to these ratepayers as part of this process.

“They will be notified that their ‘overgrown and unmaintained’ land has become unsightly and a cause for public concern due to the presence of pests, including mosquitoes, which might be breeding on their property.

“A seven day grace-period will be given for these individuals to abate this nuisance. If they fail to comply, then we will have no choice but to initiate legal action.”

The spokesman was responding to feedback about the health and fire hazards posed by the unkempt compound around a vacant house in Taman Putra Pogun.

A ratepayer from the neighbourhood said most of the front gate, perimeter fence and yard were covered in climbing plants which she suspected had become a habitat to dangerous pests.

Some of those staying on Lorong Bel’Drees 4 – where the empty unit was located – had noticed an increase in the number of mosquitoes buzzing about inside their homes, according to her.

She said others had spotted snakes, rats and monitor lizards coming onto their land from the unoccupied lot.

Besides the harmful rodents, she feared that unscrupulous parties might take advantage of the situation and turn the vacant unit into a den of iniquity to carry out unsavoury activities.

The individual also expressed her dismay at the structural damage to the house, saying that the land in one part of the compound had destabilised causing the marble tiles on the surface to collapse.

She shared these observations with the adjacent homeowner who told her that rainwater rushing down the roof from the empty lot had had a negative on his residence.

Moisture had been seeping through some parts of his ceiling and unsightly stains had begun to form those sections of the walls which were closer to the floor, according to her.

Worse still, she said, the run-off had even trickled down to the area where the fuse-box for her neighbour’s unit had been placed, leading the occupants to fear for their safety.

The ratepayer claimed to have highlighted these irregularities to the Council in January but said that after almost 12 months the situation had yet to improve.

The spokesman refuted the suggestion of the agency’s inaction, saying that its staff had confirmed the unkempt condition of the compound around the unoccupied unit on three separate inspections.

“A check of our records shows that notices were affixed to the front gate of the premises in each instance by staff from our Valuation Division,” he said.

“This was done in February, October and most recently at the beginning of December.” 

He said the homeowner had failed to abide by the Council’s instructions “to clear and maintain the area which was overgrown”.

“A senior officer with our Health Division recently managed to get in touch with this ratepayer last week. He / she was made to understand that the individual is based overseas.

“The homeowner assured us that he / she would arrange to attend to his compound as soon possible once he manages to engage the services of a private contractor to do this.” 

The spokesman said the agency’s Engineering Division would also be writing to homeowner about dealing with the problems caused by the rainwater infiltrating his/ her neighbour’s unit.