MCO offenders start arriving at temporary prisons
People convicted of violating the movement control order (MCO) have begun arriving at temporary prisons to serve their sentence.
"The Home Ministry has gazetted 11 special prisons for MCO offenders after they are sentenced by the courts.
People convicted of violating the movement control order (MCO) have begun arriving at temporary prisons to serve their sentence.
"The Home Ministry has gazetted 11 special prisons for MCO offenders after they are sentenced by the courts.
"To date, the special prisons have begun operations and 58 people who have been sentenced by the courts for violating the MCO have been sent to the temporary prisons," Defence Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob (photo) told a press conference in Putrajaya today.
The temporary prisons, which are converted premises of academies under the Prisons Department, began operations on April 23. The government initially announced 13 such temporary prisons but later revised the number to 11.
Previously, the courts had jailed MCO violators but the Prisons Department complained this was adding to already overcrowded prisons and could create new Covid-19 outbreaks as social distancing was difficult in these facilities.
The government subsequently shifted towards issuing RM1,000 fines but this led to an uptick in the number of MCO violators.
With the temporary prisons, authorities have resumed charging MCO violators in court.
Ismail had said that the temporary prisons won't be "better" and convicted MCO violators would be treated the same as those in normal prisons.
Under Section 7(1) of the Prevention and Control of Infectious Disease (Measures Within the Infected Local Areas) Regulations 2020, a person violating the MCO can be fined up to RM1,000 or imprisoned up to six months or both.
Overall, Ismail said a total of 19,434 individuals have been arrested for violating the MCO.
He also noted a decreasing trend of daily arrests, with 386 individuals picked up yesterday from checks on over 500,000 vehicles and nearly 6,000 premises nationwide.
Meanwhile, Ismail also reassured that authorities have identified and increased surveillance of all illegal entry routes into the country - both from the sea around the Peninsula, Sabah and land routes in Sarawak bordering Indonesia's Kalimantan province.
"Since the MCO was enforced, a total of 84 individuals were arrested for entering the country through illegal routes," he said, adding that the increased surveillance was in line with efforts to prevent new clusters of imported Covid-19 infections.
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