Dozens detained for not wearing face masks

KUALA LUMPUR, 2 Aug 2020:

Police arrested 315 people yesterday for breaching the Recovery Movement Control Order (RMCO) rules, including 127 for not wearing face masks, said Senior Minister (Security Cluster) Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob.

These included 29 individuals issued compounds in Johor for not wearing face masks in public transport and crowded places.

Johor police chief Datuk Ayob Khan Mydin Pitchay said 26 compounds were issued in Kota Tinggi district, while another three were in Iskandar Puteri – following checks conducted by police at 389 public places from yesterday.

“People found not complying with the RMCO standard operating procedures (SOPs) will be issued a RM1,000 compound under the Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases Act 1988 (Act 342),” he said in a statement today.

Meanwhile, Ismail Sabri said 28 people were detained for not following the SOP while 150 were detained for making physical distancing difficult.

“Of the total, three of them were remanded while 312 were issued compound fines. The Compliance Operations Task Force conducted 63,473 inspections yesterday to monitor and enforce compliance with the RMCO SOP,” he said in a statement today.

Ismail Sabri said police yesterday also set up 64 roadblocks in Ops Benteng nationwide and inspected 35,459 vehicles to check the entry of illegal immigrants, especially via rat trails.

He said police carried out 2,263 monitoring visits yesterday to check on individuals under home quarantine.

Police yesterday detained 28 individuals who failed to comply with home quarantine SOP, said Ismail Sabri.

From July 24 until yesterday, 4,286 people arrived at the country’s entry points and were sent to 16 hotels and five Public Training Institutes in Kuala Lumpur, Negeri Sembilan, Penang, Kelantan, Sarawak, Selangor and Johor. “Of the total, 13 people have been sent to hospitals for treatment.”

Ismail Sabri said they had returned from 24 countries namely the Philippines, Thailand, Indonesia, Cambodia, Singapore, Vietnam, Brunei, Qatar, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Hong Kong, India, United Arab Emirates, Japan, Turkey, South Korea, Iran, Bangladesh, Taiwan, China, UK, the Netherlands, Papua New Guinea and Australia.

– Bernama