KOTA KINABALU: Eighteen people were briefly detained and fined a total RM6,115 after being caught playing with fireworks illegally on Chap Goh Mei.

A team comprising 100 police and Customs personnel spotted the 18 men, aged between 24 and 60, lighting up the fire- crackers in several housing areas here and Penampang from 7pm to midnight on Monday.

State Customs deputy director Hamzah Sundang said the offenders were brought to the Customs office after they were arrested to determine the amount of their fines before being released later the same night.

Explosive items: Kota Kinabalu Traffic and Public Order chief Peter Umbuas (centre), Penampang OCPD Ratan Kumar Singh (right) and a police officer inspecting some of the seized fireworks in Kota Kinabalu yesterday.

They were fined between RM60 and RM700 each, he said, adding that offenders could be fined 20 times the value of the illegal fireworks or RM100,000 or be jailed up to three years, or both, if convicted under Section 135 (1)(d) of the Customs Act 1967.

They all paid the fine, Hamzah said, adding that Customs per- sonnel also seized a handful of firecrackers from the offen- ders.

The joint exercise was launched after the death of Shaow Yong, 26, who had half his face blown off while playing fireworks outside his Taman Seputeh house here on Chinese New Year.

Hamzah said the Customs Department had already warned the public not to play with the banned fireworks and the operation was held to keep a lid on the problem.

He added that almost all the fireworks seized were China- made.

So far, the authorities only allowed the public to play two types of firecrackers, Pop Pop and Happy Boom.

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