Police, army thwart escape attempt from EMCO area

Security personnel have foiled an attempt by a man, believed to be a foreigner, to escape from the residential area surrounding the Selayang Wholesale Market, here, which is under the Enhanced Movement Control Order (EMCO).

In the 11.30 am incident today, the man in his 40s, was believed to have climbed a barbed wire fence installed and dropped over the other side to the main road.

A Bernama reporter who happened to be at the scene saw the suspect crossing the road and the latter was nearly hit by a vehicle in the process before being apprehended by police and military personnel.

Meanwhile, a check revealed that tight control of movements was being enforced at the Selayang Wholesale Market area, which was placed under EMCO until May 3, to prevent entry and exit of people.

Police and military personnel stood guard at every entry point while two watch towers had been set up by the military to monitor the movement of the people in the area.

As early as 10 am, a sanitation process was carried out in the area while healthcare workers could be seen conducting health screenings on residents.

Yesterday, Federal Territories Minister Tan Sri Annuar Musa said some 16,000 residents in Pusat Bandar Utara and the Selayang Wholesale Market area here would undergo mass COVID-19 screenings.

The government had decided to place both areas under EMCO until May 3 to curb COVID-19 infections and to enable activities to detect positive cases to be carried out.

-- BERNAMA