‘Parents can be charged if kids are out late’
JOHOR BARU: Action will be taken against negligent parents who allow their underage children to stay out unsupervised late at night and join illegal activities, including mosquito bike racing.
Johor Baru South police chief Assistant Commissioner Sulaiman Salleh said mosquito bike racing needed to be curbed to prevent untoward incidents involving bikers and road users.
He said parents could be charged under Section 33 of Child Act 2001 for leaving a child without reasonable supervision.
The offence carries a maximum fine of RM5,000 or two years imprisonment, or both, upon conviction.
Last year, Sulaiman said, 37 youths were arrested for mosquito bike racing prior to an accident that left eight youths killed when a car ploughed into them at 3am on Feb 18.
“A week after the accident, seven other riders were arrested for holding an illegal assembly at Dataran Bandaraya. But even that did not deter them from continuing to menace the streets.
“Mosquito bike racing on the road is an illegal activity which should not be condoned by parents,” Sulaiman said yesterday.
He added that on Saturday, 22 youths, including two girls, between the ages of 14 and 17, were detained for ignoring police’s warning to disperse as they were preparing for a race along Jalan Lingkaran Dalam at 3am.
Sulaiman said those detained were only a small part of the group that gathered that night, where more than 30 youths had convened for a race.
He said the big group of riders was spotted riding dangerously and racing along Jalan Lingkaran Dalam, near the spot where the eight youths were killed.
“Some of the youths arrested that night came from as far as Kangkar Pulai, Seri Alam, Kempas and Iskandar Puteri.”
He said police had called their parents and guardians to the station before they were released.
Sulaiman said 14 summonses, under Rules 42(1)(a) of the Road Traffic Rules 1959 (LN 166/59), were issued for illegal vehicle modification, which carries a fine of not more than RM2,000 or imprisonment for up to six months upon conviction.