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ALOR SETAR: Individuals awarded the RM10,000 compound for violating Covid-19 standard operating procedures (SOPs) can appeal to the district health office (PKD) to have the fine reduced.
Chief Security Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob said PKD officials would use their discretion to determine the amount to be paid.
“Appeals can be made to the PKD, not the police because this is under the Infectious Diseases Prevention and Control Act of 1988 (Act 342).
“When you go to pay the compound, make the appeal. I think the district health officials will definitely give a reduction, ”he told reporters here today.
He was asked to comment on the application of the RM10,000 compound against SOP offenders, after the Emergency (Infectious Disease Prevention and Control) (Amendment) Ordinance 2021 was published yesterday.
Ismail said that Police Inspector General Abdul Hamid Bador had explained yesterday that the maximum compound was intended for repeat offenders and extreme SOP offenders.
Ismail said that the police have to indicate the maximum compound amount on the summons notice as stipulated in the ordinance and they were not allowed to amend it.
Take for example the theft of shoes in a mosque. It is a minor offense, but the charge will be made according to the sections of the Penal Code and the punishment will be decided according to the section.
“It is up to the court to decide the punishment and offenders can appeal,” he explained.
Explaining the “extreme violations” of the SOPs, he said it includes errant nightclub operators who continue their business despite government restrictions on the sector.
Previously, Ismail attended the armed forces ‘Cakna Veteran’ program and visited a 70-year-old veteran Md Salleh Ahamad, who was suffering from illness at his home in Jalan Masjid Seberang Pantai Johor, here.
