Ban scratch bombs

At the same time, by now people should be well edified on the dangers of scratch bomb. Therefore, even as we welcome the Cuffie initiative, the Government must go further.

Consider the device blew of the grandmother’s fingertips, broke her finger bones and seared her flesh. Surgery saw her undergo skin grafts, implantation of steel rods in her hand and surgical removal of splinters of bone. Diabetes has impeded her recovery, even as she longs for some good Samaritan to intervene to help her seek plastic surgery abroad.

Even amid all her pain, Ms Cuffie still has a household to run and bills to pay.

As she is now unable to work and faces uncertain job prospects, she is now in need of social assistance which Minister Cuffie has pledged to assist her access.

The Government must take Ms Cuffie under its wing as a special case deserving of priority attention, as an expression of our collective abhorrence at her undeserved agony that was the result of this society’s cumulative failings to stop the scratch-bomb menace More broadly we await details of Minister Cuffie’s public education campaign on scratch bombs, which have the sole purpose of creating a sudden, loud, sonic shock. Explosive noises can create severe anxiety and increased blood pressure and heart-rate in nearby residents, possibly even heart-attacks.

We also lament reports of animals being badly maimed by scratch bombs thrown at them by evildoers.

Public education must be supplemented by law enforcement against scratch bombs, which are discharged in every community from Divali to Christmas to Old Year’s Night and in between, according to the whim of the neighbourhood brat. Sadly, anecdote suggests to us that it is extremely difficult for a resident suffering any sort of noise pollution including scratch bombs to get a positive response from the police, who simply seem unwilling or unable to deal with it.

Yet legally there are many devices they can use against miscreants, including common law tort offences of nuisance, plus breach of at least two statutes - the Explosives Act and the Summary Offences Act sections 9 and 101.

The Summary Offences Act penalises the illegal discharge of fireworks including scratch-bombs by a $1,000 fine.

The Explosives Act imposes a fine of $20,000 and 10 years’ jail for the illicit import of explosives, plus a $2,000 fine for illicit wholesale and a $1,000 fine for illicit retail.

These penalties must be raised, and enforcement must follow.

We ask what new initiatives will the police deploy to impede the import of scratch bombs by shipping container, suitcase or pirogue, and to charge unscrupulous retailers? The harm done by scratch bombs to mental well-being is real, as are the physical wounds as suffered by Ms Cuffie. No combination of neighbourhood lout and unscrupulous retailer must outweigh the tranquillity of an entire neighbourhood.

The public outcry is deafening for this cause whose time has come, and the population now demands real action by the authorities