KUCHING: A 31-year-old man was fined RM1,000 in default one month’s imprisonment by the Magistrates’ Court here today after he pleaded guilty to smoking in a prohibited area at a food outlet in June last year.
The charge was read before Magistrate Nursyaheeqa Nazwa Radzali.
The accused was charged under Section 16(2) of the Control of Smoking Products for Public Health Act 2024, read together with Section 16(3) of the same Act, which carries a fine of up to RM5,000 upon conviction.
According to the facts of the case, the offence was detected during an Ops Rokok conducted by the enforcement team of the Kuching Division Health Office in the Kuching area.
The accused had earlier been issued a notice of offence under Section 47 of the same Act and was given two months to settle the compound at any Health Office.
However, he failed to present himself within the stipulated period, resulting in the case being brought to court for further action.
During mitigation, prosecuting officer Mohd Fairos Ibrahim from the Inspectorate and Legal Unit of the Kuching Division Health Office urged the court to impose an appropriate sentence as a lesson to the accused and the public to pay closer attention to gazetted no-smoking areas.
He said firm enforcement is necessary to ensure compliance with the law and to safeguard public health.
