Unlicensed Internet cafes thriving due to lax enforcement
A total of 139 Internet cafes are operating without licences in Seberang Prai and this is causing much concern among teachers and parents.
Seberang Prai municipal councillor Teoh Seang Hooi said although the council had served compound notices to the errant operators, they were still flouting the law.
“None of them have been sealed or closed down till now.
“I hope the council’s enforcement unit will step up efforts with the police to take action against these operators,” he said in an interview yesterday.
Teoh said so far only 31 operators had been taken to court for operating without licences.
He said many parents, teachers and school heads had voiced their concerns to him over children patronising the cafes.
“They are worried that their children may be exposed to online gambling as well as violent and sex movies.
“It might be difficult for the authorities to monitor such activities when Internet cafes are not registered,” he said.
Teoh urged the operators to go through proper procedures and get their businesses legalised with the council.
He said in February, the council lifted a freeze on the issuance of new licences to Internet cafes in Seberang Prai.
He said the move followed a decision by the state government to allow temporary licences to be issued to new applicants in the state from this year.
“The council stopped issuing licences to new Internet cafes since 2005.
“Although the Internet cafes do not require entertainment licences from the council, they still need to obtain business licences to operate,” he said.
Teoh said although the freeze had been lifted, many non-licensed operators were still reluctant to apply for licences.
“They are probably thinking of the costs involved and to avoid monitoring by the authorities,” he said.
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