KUALA LUMPUR: Throwing rubbish and unwanted items from the higher floors of Block 102 at Seri Pantai People's Housing Project (PPR) seems to be common occurrence.
A 15-year-old boy S. Sathiwaran was killed after an office chair, believed to have been thrown from the 21st floor, fell on him.
His grandfather Krishnan Raman who lives on the 21st floor said he had seen the chair on that floor yesterday evening as he went down.
“Upon returning I saw a huge crowd at the ground floor area. I thought there was a fight. But it was my grandson lying unconscious with the same chair I saw earlier on top of him,” he told the New Straits Times.
He said police had questioned some of the residents to assist in the investigation.
“I have lived here for more than 15 years, and I too have almost got hit when residents throw items out of their window.
“Just two weeks ago, someone threw a rubbish bin and I was lucky because I quickly ran towards the covered walkway,” said the 76-year-old.
Among items that residents had seen ‘flying’ down from the upper levels of the block were televisions, bedframe, tins, bottles, garbage and many other items.
Resident Thamara Veni Sethu, 57, who has been living there for 18 years said she was close to the victim’s family as she sometimes took care of the victim when his mother was away at work.
“He was an obedient boy and his death was unnecessary,” lamented Thamara.
She said when police cordoned the area yesterday people were still throwing glass bottles from the upper level.
“They don’t respect the police, what more their neighbours," she said, adding that she did not feel safe walking around on the ground floor.
The ground level of the block housed a community kindergarten and the thrown items had caused injuries to children there.
“My daughter was injured when they threw glass bottles which broke and the shattered glass cut her legs. Luckily it was just a small piece of glass and the doctor removed it,” she said.
Thamara also recalled an incident where a youth received 18 stitches on his head after he was hit by a board with nails.
A sundry shop owner Naimah Sarkowi, 59, said she had had to replace her shop’s awnings twice as it had broken due to falling items.
“It cost me RM700 every time I change the awnings,” she said.
The PPR Sri Pantai Residents Association chairman Tusiah Dino, 57, said the association had made numerous efforts with the Kuala Lumpur City Hall to spread awareness on littering.
“However, the issue still persists. The lack of awareness and low mentality are the main causes. They even question me when I advise them not to litter. They ask who am I to advise them and they say if there is no rubbish here, the cleaners will have no work to do,” said Tusiah, adding that they had a team to track down the litterbugs.
“Once we manage to track the culprit, we will engage with City Hall to issue a compound," she said.
Meanwhile PPR Kg Limau Resident Association chairman Ahmad Long said the residents at his area seldom throw items from the upper floors, but they did dispose their garbage at the lift area.
“Many of the residents asked their children to throw the garbage for them and they do not dispose it at the designated area. Parents play a big role to set a good example for their children, and good behaviour must start from home,” he said.
Residents in PPR Kerinchi could relate to the situation at PPR Seri Pantai as the residents there also toss sofa, kitchen waste and other rubbish.
Its resident association chairman Abdul Rahim Ahmad said once a resident threw a sofa and it broke the gazebo at the ground level.
“It was horrible. A person was hit and he received few stitches on his head.
“During our meetings we urge the city hall to install Closed-Circuit Television (CCTV) to warn the litterbugs.
“Frequent enforcement from the authorities is also needed to address the issue,” he said.