KUALA LUMPUR: A GAMBIAN tourist was among 45 motorists who had their cars towed by City Hall for illegal parking in the city centre.
In a clampdown against motorists parking along yellow lines and obstructing traffic flow, City Hall’s enforcement department launched two operations in here recently.
The first operation saw 10 tow trucks removing 31 cars in the Jalan Sultan Ismail and Bukit Bintang area while the second involved five tow trucks in Jalan Dang Wangi, Jalan Tunku Abdul Rahman and Jalan Ipoh.
Fourteen cars were towed in the second operation, including one used by tourist Larry Masing Morgan of Gambia.
“I borrowed the car from my friend. I just parked on the side of the road like everyone else,” he said, adding that he did not know it was a tow zone.
Some motorists, however, were luckier as they were able to remove their vehicles and only received summonses for the parking offences.
City Hall enforcement officer Mohd Hisham Izhar, who led the morning clampdown, said the council carried out special operations from time to time as a deterrent.
“Every day, we have 22 tow trucks that go around the city in shifts to remove cars that are illegally parked.
“We carry out special clampdown twice a week where we focus on the hotspots for illegal parking offences.”
Hisham explained that the offences are under the Road Transport Act 1987 and Road Transport Rules 2012 for illegal parking and obstructing traffic.
Hisham said those who had their cars towed would have to pay at least RM300.
“The fee to tow the car is RM100 while another RM100 is charged for holding the car in the depot. The compound for the offence ranges between RM100 and RM150.
“From January to July, a total of 4,548 cars have been towed for parking offences in the city, and this includes regular towing operations, joint operations and special clampdowns.”
Hisham also said in some cases, no one would come to claim the cars as these vehicles could be stolen, use fake plates or the owners have defaulted on their payments.
“At the moment we have 175 such cars in our depot. If the cars are tied to any criminal or hire purchase case, we will hold it until it is settled.”
Hisham said City Hall would continue its enforcement efforts to tow the illegally parked cars.