No mercy for offenders during CNY ops
THE STAR
PETALING JAYA: Traffic offenders during this Chinese New Year holidays will not escape the full brunt of the law.
The police have promised to take stern action against them, signalling a shift fromt the previous Op Selamat where the strong presence of policemen was more to monitor traffic and ensure smooth travel for road users.
Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar said the increase in accident rates last year had necessitated the change in approach.
“Enforcement, enforcement and more enforcement. That is what these irresponsible motorists have forced us to do,” he said, adding that motorists who are caught flouting the law would be slapped with the maximum compound.
He said that last year 489,606 accidents were reported compared to 476,196 in 2014, an increase of 2.8%.
“During Chinese New Year last year, accidents went up by 18.8% with 17,632 cases compared to 14,836 in Chinese New Year 2014.
“Fatal accident cases were also higher last year by 22.4% with 186 fatal accidents compared to 152 cases in 2014,” he said.
Khalid said police would take appropriate measures including launching special operations to reduce accidents.
“From our observations, most of these accidents were caused by careless motorists.”
