Police should call off Ops Warta II immediately as they must first meet the legal requirements on service of summonses before arresting traffic offenders who had not settled their summonses.

Making the call today, Bar Council chairman Mah Weng Kwai also called on the Inspector General of Police Norian Mai to stop threatening motorists with double compound fines and arrests should they fail to settle their summonses by May 16, which was an extension of the May 1 dateline.

The police must respect the laws and be seen by the public to be obeying the law as well. The police cannot act arbitrarily as this will amount to an abuse of power, although the threat of arrest may be a convenient way to clear the back log of the police notices, Mah said in a press statement today.

He also urged the police to seek legal advice from the Home Ministrys legal adviser or the Attorney General to overcome their apparent misinterpretation of the law.

The Bar Council commends the Minister in the Prime Ministers Department Dr Rais Yatim for his statements on this issue recently as they are a correct reflection of the law applicable, he added.

He said that the Road Traffic Act 1987 allows the police to send traffic offence notices to motorists by registered mail and the failure to comply to such notices tantamounts to an offence.

If the motorist failed to compound the notice, the police ought to apply to the court for a summon to be issued and not to arrest the person as there is no provision in law for them to do so, he said.

Police had earlier announced that errant motorists had until May 1 to settle their compounds from the past six years or face a heavier penalty with an additional fine for ignoring the notice of offence sent to them.

'Find other ways'

Just days before the deadline, thousands thronged police stations and collection centres nationwide to settle their dues and had complained that they had not been given sufficient time.

On May 3, Rais said the police were not following the law in the implementation of Ops Warta II as the summonses must be served personally or by registered post.

He also said that it is not for the motorists to check whether they have outstanding summonses against them as the law requires the police to serve the summonses personally or through registered mail.

The minister said that if the motorists did not receive the summonses by post, the police must find other ways to serve them.

In response to Rais statement, deputy Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi who is also the Home Minister, said Rais should explain to the police the legal aspects of the service of summonses on traffic offenders as it was important to ensure that Ops Warta II would be implemented in accordance with the laws of the country.