PETALING JAYA: Despite Malaysia’s ban on BB guns, unscrupulous online sellers remain defiant and continue selling the toy guns that fire soft ammunition.
Although there has been a decline in the number of online posts for the sale of BB guns on ecommerce sites, accessories such as CO2 canisters, ammunition magazines, ball bearing ammunition and replacement parts for the guns are still widely sold.
An online search by The Star found dozens of other guns, identical to real ones but not gas powered, being offered for sale.
The availability of BB guns in Malaysia has become a concern again following Tuesday’s deadly shooting at the Siam Paragon Mall in Bangkok where two people were killed after a 14-year-old boy opened fire with a similar gun.
Thailand’s top cop Torsak Sukvimol was quoted as saying the gun was not classified as a lethal weapon but the teenager modified it.
Sources in Malaysia familiar with the sale of BB guns believed that the sellers of such accessories were also dealing in the banned guns but they refrained from advertising the products, knowing that they were illegal.
According to these sources, the sellers were well aware of the authorities cracking down on these items.
As such, the sellers have become more cautious and now avoid using words such as “gun”, “pistol” or “BB” in their posts, the sources said.
“Special codes or words, which are familiar to those in the know, are added to the online posts to enable such buyers to search for them on the sites,” said a source.
Meanwhile, a senior police officer from Bukit Aman, who declined to be named, warned that those who owned or attempted to sell BB guns or imitation guns would face action.
He said police would continue to monitor the sale of such items and urged those with information to alert the police.
BB guns are manufactured to replicate real firearms. They use CO2 gas to fire projectiles at high velocity.
Banned in Malaysia under Section 36 of the Arms Act, BB guns are often used for target practice, simulated war games and even pest control.
These guns were originally built to propel plastic pellets using a spring-loaded mechanism.
However, the mechanism of the guns was redesigned over the years to fire projectiles such as ball bearings at high velocity and driven by compressed gas.
In July, The Star ran a story about a stray dog in Banting, Selangor that was shot multiple times by someone using a BB gun.
The animal was left for dead at an oil palm estate until it was saved by an animal rescuer.
