MCO flouters to be remanded, charged in court starting tomorrow- Ismail Sabri

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Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob – Bernama photo

KUCHING: There will be no compromise for those who flout the Movement Control Order (MCO) starting tomorrow, as offenders will be remanded instead of getting fined, said Senior Minister (Security Cluster) Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob.

“There will be no more compound fines of RM1,000, but offenders will be remanded and charged in court,” he said at the ministry’s daily press conference on Covid-19 security issues in Putrajaya Tuesday.

However, when asked for further clarification during the question-and-answer session, Ismail said that it depends on the individual cases.

“We let the police determine whether to issue compound or to remand the offender. The focus now is to reduce the issuance of compounds, as the growing number will also complicate matters for the police,” he said, adding that the new decision was decided after seeing many who still defy the MCO.

Ismail noted that the people are still behaving as if they are not afraid of the rules in place.

“Maybe those of who are still violating the MCO do not see RM1,000 as a high amount for them.

“So we will let the court decide (on the punishment),” he said.

Ismail informed that 1,374 individuals were detained yesterday for violating the MCO while 931 were fined RM1,000.

From March 18 until yesterday, a total of 9,090 individuals were arrested for flouting MCO.