Married couple, lovers, foreigners among 68 facing jail time, fines for violating MCO

A married couple, a pair of lovers and foreigners were among 68 individuals who were charged in three Magistrates' Courts here for violating the Movement Control Order (MCO), entering its 38th day today.

At the Kuala Lumpur Magistrate's Court, 53 individuals including 10 women and a married couple were fined between RM700 and RM1,000 and the rest were jailed for between seven and 14 days after they pleaded guilty, to assembling and moving from one place to another, including going out to buy tissues, taking food for an adopted sibling, going to pay off debts and to buy things.

The court also ordered all the accused, including 14 Indonesians, Bangladeshis and Myanmar nationals to be jailed one month from the date of arrest between April 15 and 23, if they failed to pay the fine.

All of them, aged between 20 and 43 years, were charged with committing the offence around Kuala Lumpur between April 15 and April 23.

At the Ampang Court, 10 individuals including a pair of lovers as well as foreigners comprising Filipinos and Indonesians pleaded guilty to disobeying the MCO for various reasons including going out to buy infant milk, groceries and shopping at supermarkets and visiting friends.

The court fined them between RM600 and RM700 or a month's jail in default, while the sentence for the 17-year-old girl was postponed to June 24 pending a probation report.

All the accused, aged between 17 and 49, were charged with committing the offence at several separate locations in Taman Bukit Indah, Taman Keramat, Taman Melawati, Pandan Indah, Taman Melati, here, between 1.30 pm and 1.35 am from March 29 to April 17.

At the Selayang Magistrate's Court, five men, between the ages of 27 and 32, were each fined RM1,000 or three months' jail for going out for a drink (alcohol) and gathering in the parking lot of Delima Desa Putra, Jalan Bunga Raya 2, Batu Caves here at 6.30 pm on April 22.

All of them are charged under Rule 6 (1) of the Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases (Measures Within the Infected Local Area) Regulations 2020 punishable under Rule 11 of the same regulation which provides for a maximum fine of RM1,000 or up to six months imprisonment or both.

-- BERNAMA