| James Kon |
ILLEGAL dumping of rubbish in public areas by individuals is on the decline while the number of companies committing this offence is rising sharply.
In 2017, the Law Enforcement Unit of the Bandar Seri Begawan Municipal Department recorded 56 cases of illegal dumping of rubbish in public areas involving 12 individuals and 44 companies.
Whereas in 2016, it recorded 117 cases that involved 76 individuals and 41 companies.
It is an offence under Chapter 30, Section 12 of the Minor Offences Act to dispose items in public places.
The continuous effort in promoting awareness by the Law Enforcement Unit of the BSB Municipal Department is one of the main reasons for the steep decline in the number of cases, the department said in a statement.
Through various campaigns and operations, public awareness of the Minor Offences Act has increased. This is evident from the drastic drop in individual cases in 2017 compared to 2016, the statement added.
Since the environment and facilities provided by the government are shared publicly, there should be shared responsibility to care for it. Cleanliness must start from home, the department said.
The department also reiterated that under Chapter 30 Section 12 of the Minor Offences Act, any person or company found guilty disposing rubbish in public places will be slapped with a compound fine not exceeding $500.
In case of failure to settle the fine, the matter will be referred to court and if found guilty, the punishment will be a fine of B$1,000, or a month’s imprisonment for the first convicted offence. For the subsequent offence, the punishment will be a fine of B$3,000, or up to three months’ imprisonment.
The enforcement unit is currently active in bringing the offenders who do not pay the compound to prosecution.
Meanwhile the Law Enforcement Unit issued compound fines to two companies last Thursday for dumping rubbish in public areas.
The two companies operating in Serusop area were slapped with fines of B$500 and B$200 respectively.
The Law Enforcement Unit said it will regularly monitor and conduct operations from time to time to ensure that individuals and businesses comply with the rules and regulations under the Minor Offences Act.
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