DESPITE the clampdown on parking touts on the island and lured by the prospect of high takings during the holidays, daring groups and individuals continue to demand exorbitant parking fees of motorists.
Police sources say some 20 parking touts were detained in the first 10 days of the month in spite of the fact that many illegal parking attendants had been brought to court in the last two months.
Penang Island Municipal Council (MPPP) officers are now cooperating with police in keeping a lookout for touts.
MPPP enforcement and public education alternate chairman Lim Boon Beng said a special task force had been formed to eradicate the problem.
“We have lodged 67 police reports on illegal parking touts on behalf of complainants that had come to us.
“We would like to categorically reject claims that we have been inefficient in handling this issue,” he told reporters yesterday.
In October, police arrested 11 touts. Two more were nabbed last month.
The hotspots identified by the council are mostly in busy business districts such as Lebuh Chulia, Jalan Dato Keramat, Lorong Abu Siti, Lebuh Pantai, Lorong Madras and Persiaran Karpal Singh.
Touts are charged for unlawful interference and importuning under Section 50(3) of Road Transport Act 1987. If found guilty, they can be fined RM500 or jailed for 10 days or both.
MPPP had also erected signs at the hotspots with the number for the public, including tourists, to call if they are approached by parking touts. The number to call is 04-269 1999.