LOCAL councils have the legal right to prosecute individuals for offences, including traffic violations.
Johor Bar Committee chairman Fadhil Ihsan Mohamad Hassan said individuals with cases at local council courts were entitled to legal representation during hearings.
Fadhil says individuals are entitled to legal representation at local council courts.“The establishment of magistrate courts to handle local council-related offences has helped alleviate the backlog of cases in other magistrate courts.
“In addition to hearing cases involving offences under local council by-laws, such as parking or traffic violations or unauthorised building renovations, these courts are also empowered to handle all matters within their jurisdiction, including remand proceedings, similar to any other magistrate court,” he explained.
However, Fadhil said not all local councils in the country had their own magistrates’ courts.
“Local councils must first provide a suitable space for the court, after which the judiciary will assign a judicial officer for that court,” he said.
According to him, most cases heard in these magistrates’ courts were relatively straightforward, with many offenders pleading guilty to the charges.
“In cases involving parking summonses, the court will only hear the charges brought before it, even if the accused has several more outstanding summonses.
“Usually, for these types of cases, the offender pleads guilty and the magistrate imposes a fine.
“Once the fine is paid, the individual is free to leave,” he said.
Fadhil urged individuals with multiple unpaid summonses, whether with MBJB or other local councils, to settle them promptly.
“By clearing their summonses, local councils, the courts and offenders can save a lot of resources and time,” he pointed out.
Trader Amir Abdullah, 38, said he received a warning letter from MBJB to pay his outstanding parking summons some two weeks ago.
“I committed the offences back in 2017.
“Back then, Johor Baru still used parking coupons and it was quite a hassle getting them from shops.
“I have two cars, with one under my name and the other is registered under my wife’s name.
Deva urges MBJB to create more parking spaces instead of taking motorists to court.“Both of us have accumulated over RM400 in compounds,” he revealed.
Amir added that this was the first time he had received such a letter from MBJB and would be using the MBJB app to pay his arrears as it offered a 50% discount.
Pertubuhan Gagasan Rakyat Bumi Johor chairman S. Deva, 48, said he was once brought to MBJB magistrate court for unpaid summonses a couple of years ago.
He had since paid all of his parking arrears but urged the local council to provide more public parking spaces, especially in Johor Baru’s downtown area.
“There is not enough parking spaces in the city.
“Most of them are privately owned and the charges are too expensive.
“Lack of parking space is forcing motorists to park their vehicles illegally and this is something that MBJB should look into before taking people to court just to pay their summonses,” he said. — By MOHD FARHAAN SHAH
