21 Myanmar workers nabbed at 'water festival'

BUKIT MERTAJAM: Police arrested 21 Myanmar nationals for participating in a ‘water festival' in front of a house in Taman Bidara here on Saturday.

Seberang Perai Tengah district police chief ACP Shafee Abd Samad said acting on public complaints, police raided the place at 2.30 pm and found the group dancing and spraying water from rubber hoses on one another.

He said those arrested included a woman, and they were aged between 20 and 30.

"They were noisy and dancing to music blaring in the background. They were neither practising social distancing nor wearing face masks,” he said when contacted on Sunday.

He said the revellers, believed to be factory workers, tried to escape but police managed to round them up.

One of them, believed to be drunk, pushed policemen in a bid to resist arrest, he said.

Shafee said they were being investigated under Sections 186 and 269 of the Penal Code as well as Regulation 19 of the Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases Regulations 2021 for violating the Movement Control Order.

In Myanmar, the Water Festival is usually held in midApril to celebrate the Myanmar New Year.

Meanwhile, Seberang Perai Utara district police chief ACP Noorzainy Mohd Noor said two men were arrested for drink driving in Jalan Chain Ferry, Butterworth, at 6 am on Sunday.

The two, aged 35 and 37, worked as a mechanic and a lorry driver, he said.