Buy food four times a day, drink at stalls among excuses by detainees - Ismail Sabri

The excuse of wanting to buy food but doing it again and again, was one of the reasons several individuals were detained by the police during the period of the Movement Control Order (MCO), said Senior Minister (Security Cluster) Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob.

Besides that, the Bera MP said, there were still a few people who held group activities outside the house such as drinking in stalls and coffee shops.

"(Among the excuses given) they wanted to buy food but four times a day by the same individuals until the police could easily identify them. They would come out in the morning, in the afternoon and in the evening with the same excuse for buying food.

“This led the police to suspect they were not genuine in wanting to buy food but had deliberately wanted to go out. This is just one of the examples.

“People are still crowding in food stalls, coffee shops, to enjoy a drink with friends, with some coming out in groups. Things like this are still happening, which is why the police are taking action,” he said at a COVID-19 daily press conference here today.

He said this when asked to comment on the excuses that were often made by individuals who defied the MCO, leaving the police with no choice but to detain them.

Ismail Sabri said there have also been incidents such as intentionally defying instruction to stop at roadblocks and forcing the police to take stern action.

Earlier, he said 649 individuals had been detained in the operations of the authorities yesterday and 73 individuals had been arraigned in court.

“When more stringent actions are taken, we found many are still defying the directives that have been issued.

"(So) the police have been given permission to take decisive action, including issuing compounds besides taking them to the court," he added.

In 997 roadblocks conducted yesterday, he said, 301,938 vehicles were inspected, an increase of twice as much as the previous day.