Nasi Kandar eatery owner linked to Sivagangga cluster fined 12,000, jailed 5 months

Magistrate Mohd Hadi Hakimi Harun sentenced Nezar Mohamed Sabur Batcha, 57, after he pleaded guilty to four counts of failing to comply with the home quarantine order on July 14.

The sentence was meted out at a special session held at the Alor Setar Old Hospital here, where the accused was quarantined after testing positive for COVID-19.

Nezar Mohamed is accused of violating the home quarantine order imposed on him under Section 15 (1) of the Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases Act 1988.

He committed the offence at the Bank Rakyat premises Jitra Branch at 4.40 pm; at the Agro Bank premises, Jitra Branch at 3.58 pm; at the Kubang Pasu Revenue Service Centre premises at the Inland Revenue Board Jitra Branch at 3.35 pm and at the Jitra Branch Public Bank premises at 3 pm, on July 14.

The accused was charged under Section 22 (b) and punishable under Section 24 (a) of the Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases Act 1988, which carries a maximum prison sentence of two years or a fine or both.

Nezar Mohamed was sentenced to five months’ jail after the court ordered the jail sentences to run concurrently starting from today, and fined RM3000 for each charge.

The prosecution was conducted by deputy public prosecutor Zabidah Ahmad, while the accused was not represented by a lawyer.

Earlier, Zabidah had asked the court to impose a deterrent sentence on the accused as a lesson to him and others so as not to violate the directives issued by the government.

She said the accused had triggered the Sivagangga cluster on July 28 which had threatened public health, involving three districts in Kedah (Kubang Pasu, Kulim, Padang Terap), one district in Perlis (Kangar) and two districts in Penang (Seberang Perai Selatan and Seberang Perai Tengah).

“The country’s economy was also affected because the Sivagangga Cluster had caused the government to lose more than RM1 million in the TEMCO (Targeted Enhanced Movement Control Order) area of Kubang Pasu district alone and caused anxiety and concern to the general public,” he said.