Nearly 15K People Arrested in First Two MCO Phases

By Karissa Lund  •  15 Apr 2020 in News

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While many have their legit reasons to go out during MCO, some are just bull-headed. According to The Star, almost 15,000 people have been arrested for violating orders in the first two phases of the MCO.

In a press conference today, Bukit Aman CID director – Comm Datuk Huzir Mohamed said 14,922 people have been arrested between 18 March and 14 April for violating the MCO. He pointed out that 5,830 of them have been charged in court.

Now that Malaysia has officially entered Phase 3 of MCO, he reminded that all violators will be remanded and charged in court immediately without no compromise, instead of just facing the compound fine of RM1,000.

“In Phase 1, a total of 3,627 people were arrested, but the number increased by 7,668 in Phase 2 to 11,295 people. This shows that many are not complying despite numerous reminders and stern action taken,” he said.

The police will also push for the maximum sentence to be imposed when dealing with repeat offenders.

“While some gave various excuses, most of them were ‘speechless’ when questioned. We even found one person who went through the same roadblock four times on the same day and his excuse was to buy groceries,” he continued.

Many lawyers have questioned the arrests of MCO violators – saying it went against the Criminal Procedure Code. Comm Huzir responded by stating that the MCO was very clear and that it has been gazetted.

“Violating the MCO is not a small offence. If everyone does not abide by it, it will become a major catastrophe for the country as the disease will continue to spread,” he said.

The police ain’t playing around no more! Unless it’s an emergency or permissible reasons, let’s try our best to stay at home. And before you ask, karaoke-ing with your friends does not count.

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