Now 56 held for hiking at waterfall without permit

 

Some of the hikers detained at the Setinggi waterfall yesterday. (Selangor forestry department pic).

PETALING JAYA: Fifty-six hikers were detained yesterday for entering the Setinggi waterfall area near Hulu Selangor without a permit, said the Selangor forestry department.

The hikers, aged 19 to 33, were detained during an operation in the area from 10am to 4 pm.

News of the arrest comes in the wake of a report that six people were fined RM5,000 each in Terengganu for crossing state borders to holiday at Pulau Redang, off Kuala Nerus.

Selangor forestry department director Ahmad Fadzil Abdul Majid said the 56 hikers were nabbed in a joint operation by the police and a team from the Hulu Selangor district forestry office.

“Residents had complained that hikers had parked their vehicles next to their houses, damaged water pipes and rubbish bins, and had left rubbish everywhere,” he was quoted as saying by Berita Harian.

Fadzil said hikers were not allowed to visit the waterfall and other recreational parks as Selangor was still in Phase 2 of the national recovery plan, making their entry into a permanent forest reserve without a permit an offence under the National Forestry Act 1984.

He said all 56 hikers were taken to the Kuala Kubu Bharu police station for further action.

He urged the public to follow prevailing rules at all times. - FMT