PUBLISHED ONJanuary 23, 2026 6:52 AMBYSean LerTwo foreigners, a Bangladesh national and an Indonesian, became the first persons to be charged for littering since amended anti-littering laws kicked in on Jan 1.
Bangladeshi citizen Sultan Md, 28, and Indonesian national Anita Lukman, 49, were taken to court on Friday (Jan 23) for littering in Johor Bahru's city centre on Jan 1.
Anita pleaded guilty and was fined RM500 (S$159), in default of 15 days' jail, and ordered to complete six hours of community service within six months.
Malay Mail reported that Sultan requested for an interpreter as he did not fully understand the charge.
His case has been adjourned to Jan 28 for mention.
Solid Waste and Public Cleansing Management Corporation (SWCorp) said in a statement on Friday afternoon that 418 notices have been issued against littering offenders across Malaysia since Jan 1.
It also revealed that 103 of those caught are foreigners.
The Star reported Khalid Mohamed, chief executive of SWCorp, as saying that the deputy public prosecutor has given permission to press charges against 99 of the 103 offenders, with 15 of the cases to be brought to court soon.
In response to AsiaOne's queries, the Johor Bahru chapter of SWCorp said that there is "no information for now" on the court mention dates for the five Singaporeans caught for littering.
AsiaOne had reported that one Singaporean was booked for littering on Jan 1, while two other male Singaporeans were caught on Jan 3.
Another two Singaporean men, aged 30 and 40, were booked on Jan 12 and 14 respectively.
Under the amended law, which has been adopted in Johor, Melaka, Negeri Sembilan, Pahang, Perlis and Kedah, as well as the federal territories of Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya, those found guilty of littering may be fined up to RM2,000 and ordered to serve a maximum of 12 hours of community service orders.
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