2,974 Littering Offence Notices Issued Since Jan 1 – SWCorp

KUALA LUMPUR, April 15 (Bernama) -- A total of 2,974 Notice of Offence (NPK) have been issued for minor littering offences since enforcement began on Jan 1.

Solid Waste and Public Cleansing Management Corporation (SWCorp) Chief Executive Officer Khalid Mohamed said of the total, 2,242 notices involved local citizens while 732 involved foreigners.

“This morning, nine offenders were sentenced by the court recently to carry out Community Service Orders (PKM) ranging from one to four hours, to be completed within one month.

“Eight are locals and one is a foreigner from China, aged between 29 and 61,” he told reporters after officiating the sixth PKM series in Jalan Yaacob Latif, Bandar Tun Razak here today.

Enforcement of PKM for littering offences in public places began on Jan 1 this year in line with the Solid Waste and Public Cleansing Management Act 2007 (Act 672) (Amendment 2025). If convicted, offenders may be fined not more than RM2,000 and/or subjected to PKM for up to 12 hours.

He said the seventh PKM series is scheduled for April 30, involving more than 100 offenders from Perlis, Kedah, the Federal Territories (Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya), Negeri Sembilan, Melaka, Pahang and Johor under Act 672.

According to Khalid, those aged between 30 and 39 recorded the highest number of offences, accounting for about 30 per cent or 896 individuals.

He added that 15 child offenders have also been recorded so far, and they will be engaged together with the Social Welfare Department (JKM) in the near future.

Commenting on offenders’ backgrounds, he said SWCorp does not discriminate in enforcement as the offences involve various groups, including students, self-employed individuals, civil servants and private sector workers.

On a pregnant woman offender who also underwent PKM today, he said the court imposed only a one-hour sentence considering her condition, and she was assigned light duties.

“Taking into account that the offender is pregnant, we did not assign heavy work. Only litter picking was done and our officers continuously monitored her.

“If she was unwell, we provided a chair, water and all necessary facilities to ensure her welfare and health were taken care of,” he said.

Khalid said SWCorp will continue to intensify campaigns, publicity and public awareness efforts while strengthening enforcement, which has seen arrests in April increase by about 25 to 60 times compared with January to March.

Throughout the PKM implementation period, offenders carry out cleaning work in public areas including sidewalks, roads, drainage systems and surrounding areas to ensure cleanliness, safety and a conducive environment for public use.

-- BERNAMA