A 30-year-old man has been arrested at a place of worship for obstructing and abusing a policeman after being asked to comply with the ongoing Movement Control Order (MCO).

Kuala Muda police chief ACP Adzli Abu Shah said police had earlier monitored the place at about 10.30 am following the enforcement of the order and found a group of people had gathered there.

"We explained to them about the order and asked them to disperse. The others obeyed the instruction, however, one of them tried to argued with the authorities and we decided to arrest him.

"We detained him not for violating the Movement Control Order but for obstructing the duty of a civil servant after we asked him to leave. He didn't want to leave, he kept cursing us and refusing to cooperate," he told reporters here Thursday.

He said further investigations would be conducted under Section 186 of the Penal Code and upon completion of the investigation papers, it would be submitted for prosecution in court.

Adzli also reminded the public not to take the MCO lightly and comply with the directives of the monitoring authorities.

Prior to this, the Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Abdul Hamid Bador had advised the public to obey the MCO, to avoid facing legal action, among others the Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases Act 1988, the Police Act 1967 and the Penal Code.

-- BERNAMA