Getting to work: Yeo (centre) inspecting demolitions at the illegal settlements at Kg Sembulan in Kota Kinabalu.

KOTA KINABALU: After years of putting up with squatters at several illegal settlements in Kg Sembulan near here, City Hall has finally decided to act.

The squatters have been issued warning letters and evacuation notices that their homes will be demolished.

Kota Kinabalu Mayor Datuk Yeo Boon Hai said demolition work, which has already begun, will continue in stages so as to give illegal residents ample time to move out.

“We have identified 250 squatter homes on a private plot and 200 more homes on state land in Sembulan.

“I advise all squatters to move out as soon as possible,” he said during a demolition operation in Sembulan on Wednesday.

The Sembulan area has been dubbed the “eyesore of the city” as tonnes of rubbish are strewn all over.

City Hall officials recently conducted a gotong-royong clean-up exercise with Chief Judge of Sabah and Sarawak Tan Sri Richard Malanjum and judicial staff.

They managed to clear up about 67 tonnes of garbage including old engine parts, shoes, broken toys, clothes and plastics in the half-day event.