124 at pubs and nightclubs busted for MCO offences

PUTRAJAYA: The police have nabbed some 124 individuals at pubs and nightclubs as part of the government’s operations on recovery movement control order (MCO) violations.

Senior Minister (Security) Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob said the 124 individuals were among 293 people who were caught for various recovery MCO-related offences by authorities on Sunday.

“Out of the 293 offenders, 24 were held under remand while 269 were issued compounds.

“Among the recovery MCO offences that were zeroed in during checks by the authorities included pub and nightclub activities (124 individuals), failure to adhere to physical distancing rules (85), failure to provide check-in facilities for customers (31), not wearing face masks (24), businesses operating beyond stipulated time (10), premises operating without permits (six), leaving the house without reasonable excuse (two) and failure to settle quarantine charges (two),” said Ismail Sabri in his daily statement on recovery MCO compliance among members of the public.

The arrests were made during Sunday checks by the police who are leading the government’s task force on standard operating procedure (SOP) compliance.

A total of 54,825 checks were made on Sunday by 11,016 officers.

The premises that were monitored included supermarkets, restaurants, hawker stalls, factories, banks, government offices as well as air, land and water terminals.

The police together with the Malaysian Border Security and the Armed Forces had put up 91 roadblocks nationwide on Sunday under Ops Benteng.

Ismail Sabri said the authorities managed to haul in 75 undocumented migrants as well as five human traffickers and two tekong (fishing boat skippers).

Ops Benteng was set up to guard the country’s borders against illegal entry, which at the same time also prevents the transmission of Covid19 from abroad.

Ismail Sabri also said between July 24 and Sept 20, a total of 31,830 individuals have entered the country through international entry points.

So far, 8,347 individuals are currently under mandatory quarantine orders while 23,417 others have already been discharged.

Another 71 individuals have been sent to hospitals for treatment.

The individuals are placed at 67 hotels, eight public training institutions as well as private higher learning institutions nationwide to be quarantined.