Nine rule breakers nabbed

Home quarantine violators face the music

PETALING JAYA: The police acted against nine people who broke their home quarantine order and another 230 who flouted the recovery movement control order (MCO) rules.

Senior Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob said the nine were nabbed during spot checks on Monday conducted by the authorities on 1,445 people undergoing the mandatory 14-day home quarantine order.

“The police along with Health Ministry officials often conduct checks and monitoring to ensure that those involved adhere to the standard operating procedure (SOP).

“The police have taken action against nine individuals for failing to follow the home quarantine SOP,” he said in his daily press statement yesterday.

A total of 230 people were also detained by the police for various MCO-related offences on Monday including clubbing and failing to wear a face mask.

Out of that figure, 13 were remanded and two were bailed out while the remaining 215 were slapped with a compound, said Ismail Sabri.

Among the offences committed included being involved in night club or pub activities, (22 cases), activities that did not follow the SOP (49 cases) and operating premises overtime (one case).

A total of 26 cases involved those failing to wear face masks while 128 cases involved those partaking in activities with crowds.

Meanwhile, two cases involved people who flouted quarantine regulations and another two cases involved those who failed to pay their quarantine charges.

Ismail Sabri added that from May 1 until Monday, a total of 2,931 illegal immigrants, 625 skippers and 167 smugglers had been arrested.

“Also taken into custody were 122 boats and 303 vehicles used in attempts to trespass the national borders,” he said.

On Monday, the police nabbed two individuals for immigration offences after carrying out 65 roadblocks nationwide and inspecting 27,200 vehicles in a bid to stop illegal immigrants attempting to enter the country via alternative routes.

Checks on 28 construction sites on Monday by the Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB) found that 27 sites adhered to the SOP and one site was not operational.

Enforcement officers from the Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Ministry also inspected 1,731 premises and issued warnings to three businesses for not adhering to the SOP for the recovery MCO.