If you’re thinking of whipping one out and lighting up in scenic George Town, Penang, beware: that quick puff could set you back RM10,000 in fines – or even two years in jail.
From January 1 onwards, Penang’s state government will be enforcing a hard ban on cigarette smoking within George Town’s UNESCO World Heritage site, marking off the 259ha area as a completelhy smoke-free zone.
Buildings and public spaces in the area have been gazetted as no-smoking zones since July 4, but the Penang Health Department vows it will crack down the ruling with legal action from the beginning of the new year.
The Star Online reports that Dr Zailan Adnan of the state’s Health Deaprtment said that six months of educating the public on the relatively new policy was long enough, and it will soon be time to enforce it.
The warnings seem to have worked: since the July 4 gazette and the formation of the Cigarette Smoke-Free Penang (Penbar) task force, 60 operations have been carried out within the World Heritage Site, which came across only 26 smokers flouting the rule.
Here’s hoping no one’s going to risk languishing in jail for a couple of years just to get their puff on in 2016.
