Dato’Dev Kumar
KUCHING: The police are now taking a stricter approach during the Movement Control Order (MCO) to ensure that the Covid-19 chain of infection can be successfully broken.
Sarawak Deputy Police Commissioner Dato Dev Kumar in a statement today, said since the start of the MCO on March 18, police have opted to warn and advised the public against violating the MCO as it was still at its infancy stage.
“It has been almost a month since the start of the MCO and it has entered a phase for us (police) to take a stricter approach by issuing compound notices and arrest those who refuses to cooperate or prevent us from carrying out our duties,” said Dev Kumar.
He also said that this is reflected by the higher number of compound notices that were issued over the past few days.
Police, he said, have issued a total of 95 compound notices between 8am yesterday and 8am today and 89 compound notices during the same 24 hour period yesterday.
The highest number of compound notices being issued between 8am yesterday and 8am today was in Kuching with 25 followed by Sarikei (21), Kota Samarahan (14), Betong (7), Miri (4), Simunjan (4), Bintulu (3), Padawan (2), Kapit (2), Matu Daro (2), Sibu (1), Marudi (1) and Lubok Antu (1).
However,Dev Kumar said the higher number of compound notices issued cannot be taken as an indicator of the state’s MCO compliance level which is currently more than 97 per cent.
“The increase of compound notices does not mean that more people are violating the MCO, it just shows that the police are more strict at this juncture,” he added.
Dev Kumar said since March 18, police have issued a total of 264 compound notices and arrested 573 suspects.
Between 8am yesterday and 8am today, he said police have also arrested a total of 17 individuals under the Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases (Measures within the local Infected Areas) Regulations 2020.
The highest number of arrests were made in Miri with nine, Kuching (two), Sibu (two), Padawan (two), Dalat (one) and Tatau (one).