KUALA LUMPUR: Parents who buy or allow their children to play with firecrackers are looking at some serious jail time, of up to seven years, if they are caught.
Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar said police would come down hard on anyone in possession of firecrackers.
“We have a strong, solid law. And we will enforce it to the fullest,” Khalid said.
He was responding to the growing domestic demand for illegal firecrackers.
Under Section 8 of the Explosives Act 1957, anyone convicted can be imprisoned for up to seven years, fined RM10,000 or both.
The law also empowers the police “to enter or board and search any house, premises or other buildings or place or any vehicle, vessel or aircraft specified in the warrant and to search all persons found therein and thereon”.
Khalid’s warning was directed at the syndicates smuggling firecrackers into the country and the public who sell, buy or play with them.
“Even parents who are found buying their children these firecrackers will be arrested,” he said.
Speaking to the New Straits Times yesterday, he said the police authorised only the POP-POP firecrackers and a specific type of sparklers for the Malaysian market.
“The only licence given by the police is for the two items,” he said.
The POP-POP firecracker, colloquially known as mercun bawang, gives out a small bang when thrown against a solid surface.
Khalid made it clear that besides the two, all other types of firecrackers would be regarded as explosives under the Explosives Act 1957.
Ignorance of the law could not be used as a defence.
“The sellers, when they’re caught, always say that they are unaware that they had broken the law. That’s no excuse,” Khalid said.
On a related matter, Khalid said the recent increase in the number of confiscated goods was proof that the ability of the local authorities to combat illegal smugglers had improved.
“It means that the enhanced enforcement is working. The more arrests we make, the more items we confiscate. The more items we confiscate, the larger the value that will appear (on the statistics).”
Earlier this month, two brothers were arrested in Kelantan following the discovery of firecrackers and drugs in their residence.
A week ago, the Kelantan Border Protection Agency seized more than RM60,000 worth of firecrackers in two separate areas in the state.
On June 16, authorities seized firecrackers worth RM150,000 in an operation in Padang Terap, Kedah.
Despite the stepped-up enforcement, illegal firecrackers continue to be a very lucrative contraband during the Hari Raya Aidilfitri period, as another seizure of firecrackers and fireworks worth RM10,000 in Johor Baru two days ago showed. The bust led to the arrest of two men.
All those detained are being investigated under Section 8 of the Explosives Act 1957.
The enforcement of the act would also see the empowerment of whistleblowers, as any report that led to the conviction of offenders would be rewarded with no more than one-half of the amount of the fine imposed by the court.
Over the years, illegal firecrackers have led to many tragedies.
In 2010, Khairil Arif Ayub, 6, was found with his head shattered after a house filled with illegal firecrackers exploded.
In 2013, Aleya Alysya Abd Rahim, 8, lost her right eye when she accidentally lit up a firecracker while playing with relatives.
More recently, Mohd Haiqal Firdaus Mohd Abdullah, 14, was rushed to hospital after a firecracker exploded in his hands. He sustained serious burns to the chest and neck.