Starting from next week, Shanghai Public Sanitation Bureau officials will begin pestering people illegally posting flyers on poles or walls with a barrage of phone calls as a method to curb the activity.

The new tactic, which was introduced in neighboring cities such as Suzhou, adopts an audio software which will automatically call the mobile phone number left on the ad every other hour from 8 am to 8 pm in the first two days.

The frequency for calling will be raised gradually - up to a maximum of one call every eight seconds - until offenders come in for punishment at a place indicated in the call, officials said.

"The new notification system is a preliminary measure before punishment is carried out to the illegal ad poster," said Yu Fujiang, an official of the bureau.

To stop the calls, offenders have to pay a fine ranging from 50 yuan (US$6.02) to 500 yuan and are required to phase out all the flyers they have posted. Some offenders could discard the mobile number printed on the flyers to escape punishment.

Flyers in the city, such as those selling cure-all medicines, affect the environment and have aroused increasing discontent among locals.

The new system has proved to be effective in other cities, with some 80 percent of offenders choosing to stop their activities by shutting down the mobile. About 10 percent of posters came forward to pay the fine, according to officials.

(eastday.com December 12, 2003)