Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) has had it with the tedious battle with illegal advertisements.

It is looking into amending its by-laws to a provide more severe punishment, which includes caning the culprits.

Mayor Mhd Amin Nordin Abd Aziz said he believed that through corporal punishment (e.g. caning), it would be effective in bringing fear to the offenders.

He also suggested that caning would only be imposed on those caught putting up the illegal advertisements.

“We (DBKL) have implemented various initiatives but I see that many illegal advertisements are still being be put up. I can say that if we take down 100 illegal advertisements, 200 more will be put up.

“We need to take aggressive action against this problem and that is why, caning will be the best,” he told a press conference on the matter in Kuala Lumpur today.

Apart from caning, Mhd Amin Nordin said DBKL was also looking into increasing the fine on owners of businesses involved in illegal advertisements and the culprits putting up such advertisements, from RM2,000 to RM50,000.

He said that since January, DBKL had brought down a total of 901,878 illegal advertisements which were patched up in the city, adding that 190 compounds had been issued to the offenders, while 166 companies currently faced legal action.

He said DBKL had implemented many initiatives to resolve this matter such as painting ‘anti-sticker paints’ at the light pole, creating a special task force for cleaning the illegal advertisements in the city, and apprehending the culprits.

The mayor also stated that DBKL was now in discussions with the Home Ministry to act against printing companies caught printing illegal advertisements and offering services to put up the advertisements, by revoking their licences and confiscating the machines.

Sticking and hanging illegal advertisements is an offence under the Advertisement By-laws (Federal Territory) 1982 and the Vandalism By-laws (Federal Territory Kuala Lumpur) 1991.

- Bernama