Ministry: 2,104 health offence fines issued in January alone

Star: PUTRAJAYA: The Health Ministry has been hard at work weeding out health offenders across the country, issuing a total of 2,104 compound notices in January alone.
Health director-general Datuk Seri Dr Hasan Abdul Rahman said the notices included 1,132 for offences related to dengue control while the rest were related to tobacco offences.
Aside from the dengue compound fines totalling RM484,500, another 231 cases were filed in court under the Destruction of Disease Bearing Insects Act 1975, of which 56 were found guilty and fined a total of RM16,950.
The 972 tobacco offenders, on the other hand, were compounded a total of RM219,750.
There were, however, nearly triple the number of court cases filed against tobacco offenders compared to dengue cases, at 659 cases in total under the Control of Tobacco Products Regulations 2004.
Of the cases, 56 ended with convictions leading to total penalties worth RM10,030.
Dr Hasan noted that the Health Ministry would only take enforcement action as a last resort.
“The public and all parties are urged to carry out their duties and responsibilities to make sure we can optimise the implementation of health activities,” he said in a statement yesterday.