KUALA LUMPUR, March 31 — Jogging, apprehending members of the public while impersonating a police officer, and loafing around with friends, were among the violations of the Movement Control Order committed by 367 individuals brought before the Magistrates and Sessions courts in several states today.
The courts imposed jail sentences, as well as fines on the offenders after they pleaded guilty to the offences committed between March 24 and 29 in contravention of the government’s Movement Control Order to contain COVID-19, effective March 18 to April 14.
Among the charges brought against the 367 were obstructing a civil servant in the course of conducting his duty which is an offence under section 186 of the Penal Code which provides for a maximum jail term of two years or a fine of RM10,000 or both, while the offence of impersonating a police officer as charged under section 170 of the same law, carries a penalty of a jail term of up to two years or a fine or both.
The offenders were also charged under Regulation 3(1) of the Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases (Measures within the Infected Local Areas) Regulations 2020, with non-compliance of the Movement Control Order, by moving from one place to another. The provision carries a maximum penalty of imprisonment of six months or a fine of RM1,000 or both.
At the Magistrates Court here, a total of 15 men were charged. These included nine foreigners and two locals who were arrested while jogging on Jalan Mont Kiara and Jalan Desa Kiara here.
The foreigners comprised Briton Jamie Bubb Sacklyn, 28; South Korean nationals Woo Yum Sik, 54, Lee Jong Young, 50, and Kwang Suk Lee, 51; Japanese nationals Koichi Itano, 60, Tanakatohishiko, 61, Mitsuhiru Takayanagi, 51, and Taichi Okubo, 36; and Indian citizen, B. Vikram, 48.
The two local joggers were S. K. Ramani, 56, and Au Yong Vooi Loon, 31. Upon pleading guilty to violating the Movement Control Order (MCO), all 11 men were fined RM1,000 or face four weeks in jail, in default.
Two other men were sentenced to eight months of imprisonment after pleading guilty to a charge of impersonating police officers while apprehending a man, and to another charge of violating the MCO. They were Muhammad Nur Saddiq Isham Marzuki, 24, and Mohamed Nazrin Shah Kamal Bachah, 25.
In the Selayang Magistrates Court, lorry driver P. R. Yugendran, 26, was sentenced to one month in prison for loafing about with his friends on Jalan SJ 17, Gombak here on March 28 at 1.10 am.
At the Ampang Magistrates Court, an unemployed man aged 45 was fined RM800 or faces two months in prison in default, for attempting to escape from a roadblock mounted in Ampang, and for being away from home without any purpose.
In SELANGOR, a total of 61 individuals were charged and fined between RM800 and RM1,000 or face a one to two-month jail term in default, at the Klang Sessions Court, for various violations of the MCO including loitering under a tree and for being part of a gathering.
Aged between 18 and 50 years, they had been detained for committing offences individually between March 25 and 28, in various locations including Meru, Kapar, Bukit Raja, Taman Sentosa and Bandar Sultan Sulaiman.
In JOHOR, a total of 23 individuals including seven teenagers pleaded guilty in the Kota Tinggi Magistrates Court for contravening the MCO between March 26 and 28.
Sixteen of them were fined RM1,000 or face 15 days in jail, in default, while sentencing for the seven teenagers has been put on hold pending the production of relevant social reports – the court has fixed May 11 for mention of the case. The teenagers were released on bail.
In PAHANG, 19 individuals including two Bangladeshi nationals and a woman, aged between 19 and 47 years were sentenced to between two and 14 days in jail, and fined between RM200 and RM400 by the Kuantan Magistrates Court, for violating the MCO. Three teenagers who pleaded guilty to MCO violations were released on bail while the court awaits social reports before proceeding with sentencing – the court fixed May 5 for case mention.
In PENANG, a total of 183 individuals including 21 foreign nationals were brought before three Magistrates Courts in George Town, Butterworth and Bukit Mertajam for committing violations of the MCO between March 24 and 29. Of the 183 individuals aged 15 to 66 years, 151 pleaded guilty to the offences which included obstructing a public servant in the course of conducting his duties. Their sentences comprised fines of RM1,000 or jail terms.
In MELAKA, 17 individuals including three foreigners were produced at the Magistrates Court for being away from their homes without valid reasons. Aged between 18 and 43 years, all of them pleaded guilty. Five of the 17 including a Nepalese, were sentenced to prison, ranging from one to three months of imprisonment. The remaining 12 including two Nigerians, were fined between RM800 and RM1,000, and face imprisonment upon default.
In NEGERI SEMBILAN, a total of 38 individuals aged between 16 and 57 years were charged in several Magistrates courts across the state for MCO violations. These include the case of a 19-year-old lorry attendant and a 16-year-old who pleaded not guilty at the Port Dickson Magistrates Court, while at the Kuala Pilah Magistrates Court, a goods delivery worker was jailed for 25 days and fined RM3,000 for obstructing a civil servant in the course of conducting his duties.
In PERLIS, seven male individuals were each fined RM1,000 or face one month in jail, in default for violating the MCO. The offences were committed in the Arau district, specifically in Taman Cempaka, Kampung Seri Gelam Tambun Tulang and Kampung Teluk.
Four unemployed individuals aged 21 to 32 years, pleaded not guilty.
— BERNAMA
