KUALA LUMPUR, April 20 — The Perak Health Department has launched an immediate investigation into the recent fines meted out to several matriculation students in the state.

Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah thanked the public for alerting the ministry.

"Action will be taken as quickly as possible, God willing,” he said on Twitter.

The issue was first raised by Muar MP Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman, who expressed his dissatisfaction on Twitter over the RM1,500 fine issued to the students in Perak who were dining in when it happened.

"We have addressed these double standards in implementation many times? What is wrong with warning them before compounding? What is so difficult about it?” Syed Saddiq asked.

Several Twitter users have come to the defence of the students who were allegedly fined in the incident, saying that these students have been confined to or "quarantined” in their college for over five months in response to the Covid-19 pandemic.

In recent months, there has been an increasing amount of accusations against government authorities for practicing double standards when punishing people who violate Covid-19 standard operating procedures (SOPs), where popular celebrities and high-ranking government officials have been dealt with more leniently than the public.