PETALING JAYA, May 13 — With the two-week grace period given to traffic offenders coming to an end, police warned errant motorists yesterday to pay up or get ready to be handcuffed.

Federal traffic police chief Datuk Mohd Fuad Abd Latif said there were three days left before police launch Ops Warta on Friday.

“It has been a disappointing turnout so far as only 18,260 people came forward to pay their summonses from the 1.59 million warrants issued dating back to 1990,” he said.

“There are three days left. I suggest to those with warrants to be smart and pay up.”

Mohd Fuad warned that under Op Warta, the police would locate, arrest and even use handcuffs on errant motorists.

“If you fail to settle your summons, we will take you to court. If the offender does not cooperate, we will handcuff the person,” he said.

“For now, the choice is yours. But starting next week, there won’t be a choice.”

In 2008, traffic police conducted a door-to-door operation to serve warrants to offenders under Ops Warta. Their stern action resulted in public backlash, who deemed cuffing offenders unnecessary.

However, police defended themselves by saying only those who did not cooperate were handcuffed.

When Fuad announced the two-week grace period on April 1, he urged offenders to take it seriously and advised those with numerous pending summonses to meet their district traffic chief to figure out how best to resolve their outstanding amounts.

He cautioned the public against bribing police officers and warned that those who did so would be arrested both for not settling their summonses and for corruption.