Litterbugs, beware! If you’re caught littering in Sandakan then you will be punished accordingly.
In a video that has been circulating around social media, one guy in Sandakan was caught and fined for simply throwing rubbish. It appears that he may be the first person to have been caught and he was issued with a fine for the offence, based on the person recording the video.
Source: Facebook
Source: China Press
According to Sinchew, the man was unable to pay the fine so he was forced to don a hi-vis vest with the words “Kutu Sampah” (translated to litterbug) emblazoned across the back. He also needed to sweep and clean the streets for at least one hour in lieu of paying the fine, which attracted a lot of attention from passersby. Is this worth it just because you were too lazy to look for a rubbish bin?
Meanwhile, the officer can be heard telling the onlookers that this was the punishment now for litterbugs. He also said that the fines differ based on which department’s officers caught them. He mentioned that if the state’s Ministry of Health issued fines, it would be RM250 while for the municipal council, they would issue RM100 fines. Still a hefty amount no matter who issues them!
Source: Facebook
It was reported that the Sandakan Municipal Council had issued verbal warnings in June to any litterbugs that were caught but they only started fining people on July 1. Netizens also said that some of these enforcement officers would be doing their patrols in plain clothes and warned others not to simply throw rubbish if they did not want to get slapped with a fine.
Watch the video here:
Source: Facebook
Now, that’s a pretty good lesson for these litterbugs to learn! Clean up and be responsible for your own rubbish! We wonder when this initiative would be enforced in Peninsular Malaysia!
Also read: Litter in Semporna and You’ll Be Forced to Clean Up While Wearing This ‘Monkey’ Vest
