More than 70 percent of foreign visitors who receive fines for smoking in non-smoking areas have paid up, even though they are not legally binding, according to officials with the Taipei City Government’s Department of Environmental Protection.
Department statistics show that during the first nine months of this year, the department issued 13,012 tickets for cigarette butt littering.
A majority of those fined were Taiwanese, with foreign visitors accounting for only 112.
Many question why foreigners feel compelled to pay the fines since they can still leave the country without any consequences.
Immigration officials said there are no rules for putting such violations on record, but environment officials said only 30 out of the 112 foreigners, or 26.8 percent, failed to pay a first-time violation penalty of NT$1,200, leading to a shortfall of NT$36,000 of the NT$97,800 in fines issued this year.
Department Director Liu Ming-lung (劉銘龍) said that after visitors are given a ticket often their tour guide will take them to a nearby post office or convenience store to pay the fine.
Popular tourist spots and transportation hubs, such as Taipei Railway Station, are priority locations for enforcing the non-smoking regulations.
Some offenders have tried to run away while a ticket was being issued and law enforcement officials have given chase.
Some have complained that on arrival in Taiwan they were not informed of a ban on smoking in designated areas.
However, officials say that the law has been in force for more than 30 years, and the “education and warning period” has long expired.
In fact, since May 1 this year, anti-smoking laws have been bolstered so that offenders caught for a second time in the same year will be fined NT$3,600 and third-time offenders will be fined NT$5,000 plus four hours of compulsory education on environmental protection.
The penalty for cigarette butt littering in priority locations has increased from NT$2,000 to NT$10,000.
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