KUALA TERENGGANU: The sale of firecrackers and fireworks at several Ramadan bazaars around the city here is under control.
Checks on the ground found that only a few types of fireworks which are categorised as low-risk and non-hazardous to the public, are being sold at several Ramadan bazaars.
Among them are "pop-pop'', "asap sate", "asap pendek" and "mercun das".
It is also found that the traders selling these fireworks did not display them in large quantities.
Several officers and police personnel were also monitoring the sales of fireworks at the Ramadan bazaar, including along the Batu Burok beach and Dataran Shah Bandar.
Meanwhile, Kuala Terengganu district police chief Assistant Commissioner Abdul Rahim Md Din said that his department had issued permits for the sale of fireworks and firecrackers to traders who met the requirements.
He said that as many as 20 applications for the sale of firecrackers and fireworks were received until last Tuesday.
"We have approved two applications and the rest are still under review.
"We will also conduct checks on the storage of fireworks and firecrackers before considering the issuance of a sales permit," he said, advising traders to wait for approval before selling the items.
Commenting further, Abdul Rahim said that among the checks conducted were identifying the backgrounds of the applicants, including their criminal and security records.
"Although the act of selling fireworks and firecrackers is punishable, we take the approach of advising them against selling the items before obtaining a permit," he said.
Abdul Rahim said that traders selling fireworks and firecrackers without a permit could be charged under Section 8 of the Corrosive, Explosive Substances and Offensive Weapons Act 1958.
"If found guilty, the trader can be sentenced to seven years in prison or a fine of RM10,000 or both," he said.