KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 7 ― A man was yesterday fined RM300 for playing the wildly popular game Pokemon Go on his mobile phone while driving in Kuantan, Pahang, a Chinese language daily reported.
Following the launch of the game in Malaysia yesterday, the 32-year-old man said he and his friends had gotten into the car in order to catch the titular Pocket Monsters more effectively and to track down locations with where the game characters appear.
The main said he had attached a mobile phone to the phone holder at the car dashboard and activated the tracking function for the game, before going along Kuantan's main roads and reaping results in the game.
But at around 11am yesterday, the man said he and his friends had slowed down along a road in order to catch Pokemons when they were asked to stop by a traffic policeman on a motorcycle.
“When the traffic police officer saw our phones displaying the image of Pokemon Go and knew we were playing the game of catching the monsters, the officer couldn't resist laughing.
“We also laughed, but the police officer later continued to warn us that we cannot use mobile phones while driving and issued us this summons,” he was quoted saying in Sin Chew Daily.
He said they are aware of the warning against playing while driving, and hoped other Pokemon Go players would take heed and not break the law to risk being fined or causing accidents.
The Pokemon Go phenomenon is based on a 1990s game but updated with the latest technology that uses augmented reality to superimpose virtual creatures onto real world locations, and allows players to view and capture them through their smartphones.
Telecommunications firm Maxis and ride-sharing service provider Grab have teamed up to offer “PokeMobile” cars, which were launched this Monday, to take riders on Pokemon hunts as part of the Pokemon Go game.
