Six friends fined for breaking fast in hotel room

KUALA LUMPUR: Six friends, including three women, were fined RM1,000, in default four weeks jail, by the Magistrate's Court here yesterday for defying the Movement Control Order (MCO) by gathering in a hotel room to break their fast.

All of them, aged between 30 and 36, pleaded guilty to the charge before Magistrate Nurfarahain Roslan.

They were jointly charged with flouting Regulation 3 (1) of the Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases (Measures within the Infected Local Areas) Regulations 2020, which is enforced under MCO, by gathering in a room of a hotel in Dang Wangi at 9.45 pm last April 29.

They were among 45 people who were charged with defying the MCO at the Selayang and Petaling Jaya magistrate's court yesterday.

The other 39 people also pleaded guilty to the charge and were fined between RM400 and RM1,000 each, in default three week to a month's jail.

They included 27 foreign nationals, comprising Indonesian,

Bangladeshi, Nepalese and

Somalian.

All the 39 people, aged between 20 and 52, were charged with committing the offence in the federal capital between April 13 and May 2.

In the Petaling Jaya Magistrate's Court, three Indonesian men and a Myanmar man were sentenced to three months' jail, while 12 others, including three women, were fined RM1,000 each, in default three months' jail, after they pleaded guilty to defying the MCO by going to a place more than 10 kilometres away from their place of residence.

Magistrate Nor Ariffin Hisham ordered the foreigners, who also pleaded guilty to overstaying in Malaysia, to serve the jail sentence from the date of their arrest, which was between March 29 and April 20.

All the accused, aged between 19 and 55, were charged with committing the offence in Kg. Sg. Kayu Ara, the Federal Highway and Bandar Utama here between March 29 and April 20. – Bernama