Legislate Vandalism Act to curb menace — Lam Thye
SIBU: Malaysia Crime Prevention Foundation ( MCPF) calls for introduction of Vandalism Act to allow for compulsory community service and caning for habitual offenders.
MCPF senior vice- chairman Tan Sri Lee Lam Thye said this can be done now that Article 6 of the Federal Constitution, which prohibits forced labour, has been amended.
He pointed out that vandalism by-laws enforced by the various local authorities are inadequate to rid the nation of the problem.
“At present, offenders can be charged under Section 427 of the Penal Code which was amended in 2014.
“Under the amendment, whoever commits mischief and thereby causes loss or damage of RM25 and above can be jailed between one and five years or with fine or both,” Lee said in a media statement yesterday.
He added: “There is a need for a new federal legislation to deal with this problem through compulsory community service to shame the culprits, as well as provision to cane habitual offenders.
“The time has come for a Vandalism Act to be introduced to allow compulsory community service and caning for habitual offenders.”
Those found guilty of committing any act of vandalism should perform community service in accordance to the number of hours to be determined by the relevant authorities, he highlighted.
To ensure the effectiveness of the existing and proposed laws, enforcement personnel must carry out their tasks more responsibly while the public must act as the eyes and ears of the authorities, he suggested.
Lee believed that to help overcome vandalism in the country, there is a need for all local authorities to enforce community service and publicise it to instil fear of public embarrassment among the perpetrators.
He reasoned that it is a more effective way of fighting vandalism as compared with other punishments especially issuing compound or fine.
He thus urged Minister of Housing and Local Government Zuraida Kamaruddin to take steps to ensure the enforcement of community service order by all local authorities to deal with habitual offenders.
“Vandalism by-laws enforced by the various local authorities are inadequate to rid the nation of this problem.”
Lee explained that community service, also known as community restitution, is a form of punishment intended to benefit the community that has been affected by the perpetrator’s acts.
Judges often order offenders to perform community service in addition to or instead of other forms of punishment, such as incarceration, fines, or probation.
Lee bemoaned that vandalism has become a social menace where anything that is public is not spared.
Public facilities such as recreational parks, toilets, bus stops and even the LRT and MRT stations have become the targets of these vandals, he lamented.
Adding on, he pointed out that acts of vandalism, including graffiti, abound in every nook and corner of the country as can be seen on fire hydrants, garbage bins, lifts, parking meters and public signboards.
Lee observed that though vandalism in Malaysia is not as severe as in many countries in the West, the quantum of damage renders it a serious problem that must be tackled effectively.
It was reported that a bicycle- sharing provider has to collaborate with the police in order to tackle vandalism cases against its bikes, such as being thrown into drains, hung on trees, or left on pedestrian walkways.
He opined that such a negative behaviour shown by some Malaysians warrants an urgent need to introduce community service to help tackle vandalism.
“For habitual offenders (more than three times), they should be punished with caning apart from the minimum one year imprisonment as provided under the Penal Code.
“Although the state of vandalism in our cities and towns is not very alarming, it is nevertheless serious and warrants stringent laws to deal with the problem in addition to awareness campaigns to prevent vandalism,” Lee stressed.