Don’t make prank calls to fire station

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SIBU: Sibu Zone fire chief Mutalib Abdul Rashid has advised against making prank calls to the fire station, lamenting the three prank calls received over the last two months.

“What if real fires break out when firemen are out to attend to false cases? In a recent case, firemen rushed to Rantau Panjang following a distress call received, but found no fire after searching the area for about three hours,” he recalled.

In another incident in Stabau, firemen spent hours searching for a fire that never was. Sibu deputy police chief Martin Koo concurred with Mutalib, saying police had received three reports of prank calls to Bomba.

All the reports were forwarded to the Communications and Multimedia Ministry for investigation.

He said under Section 233 of the Communications and Multi-media Act 1998, it is an offence to make prank calls which is punishable with a fine up to RM50,000 or jail not exceeding one year, or both fine and jail. He said phone lines frequently used to abuse the 999 emergency number risk getting disconnected.