Cigarette butts land 25 litterers in community service

JOHOR BARU: Twenty-six people, including 14 foreigners, have been ordered to clean public spaces after being convicted of littering, with 25 of the cases involving discarded cigarette butts.

They were ordered to perform community service simultaneously at five locations across Johor today.

The foreigners comprised seven Bangladeshis, three Nepalese, three Indonesians and one Pakistani, while the remaining 12 offenders were Malaysians.

Johor Solid Waste Management and Public Cleansing Corporation (SWCorp) director Zainal Fitri Ahmad said the punishment was intended to make offenders confront the consequences of their actions instead of simply paying a fine.

"This is not merely a punishment, but a form of civic education that gives offenders a direct understanding of the impact of irresponsible littering and builds awareness of keeping the environment clean," he said.

The offenders carried out cleaning work under the supervision of SWCorp enforcement officers at De Stulang here, Taman Sri Saujana in Kota Tinggi, Taman Teknologi Johor, Taman Selasih in Senai and Taman Rekreasi Sungai Kapeh in Segamat.

Zainal said SWCorp had issued 3,095 notices for littering offences across Johor, while 789 investigation papers had been submitted to the state deputy public prosecutor since Aug 1 for further action.

To date, 107 cases under Section 77A of the Solid Waste and Public Cleansing Management Act have been concluded in court, involving 59 Malaysians and 48 foreigners.

The cases resulted in RM71,550 in fines, with offenders also ordered to perform between two and 10 hours of community service.

In a separate case, a foreign man was jailed for one month after failing to pay a RM1,000 fine imposed by the Sessions Court here for throwing a cigarette butt onto a public road in Stulang Laut.

He was also ordered to perform six hours of community service.

Under Section 77A, those convicted of littering in public places can be fined up to RM2,000 or ordered to perform community service for up to six months.

Failure to comply with a community service order can result in further action, including a fine of up to RM10,000.

Zainal said enforcement would continue alongside preventive and educational measures to curb littering and support Johor's Clean City 2030 aspiration.