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Wednesday, 06 February 2008 |
KUALA LUMPUR, 6 Feb (The Star) -- Pranksters beware – not only will you be charged in a court of law but you will also be billed for making false 999 calls.
The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission is mulling over the amount to be charged for prank calls, and that it could be RM1 per call or more.
The move is aimed at reducing the number of prank calls to the 999 emergency hotline.
Such calls currently make up almost 98% of the total calls made to the 999 number since it was set up last October.
Awareness campaign: Shaziman handing out a 999 sticker to a motorist at the Jalan Duta toll plaza in Kuala Lumpur yesterday.
Deputy Energy, Water and Communications Minister Datuk Shaziman Abu Mansor said the 999 line received about 67,257 calls a day, of which only 1,396 were actual distress calls.
“This is not something we take lightly. The high number of prank calls is preventing or delaying aid to those who really need it. Sometimes, we have the same person making at least 200 prank calls.
“We hope charging these pranksters RM1 or RM2 for each fake call they make will help reduce the number of such calls, as it will pinch them where it hurts the most – their pockets,” he told reporters yesterday after launching the 999 awareness campaign for road users at the Jalan Duta toll plaza.
Goodies were also given out to motorists.
The single emergency number is for police, hospitals, the Fire and Rescue Department and the Civil Defence Department.
Shaziman said prank callers could also be fined RM50,000 or face one year’s jail, or both, under Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act.
He said the commission was investigating about 13 cases involving pranksters who had made at least 500 prank calls each since October.
“Our latest report in December shows that most prank calls were made by children (42%), followed by men (38%), teenagers (14%) and the rest by women.
“Of the total number of calls, 52% were made just for the fun of it, 32% were of a pornographic nature, 10% were silent calls while 6% were by mental patients,” he added.
He said once the technology was updated by the middle of this year, information on pranksters, including their phone number and location, would be stored in a database to track their movement. |
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Last Updated ( Wednesday, 06 February 2008 )
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