KUALA LUMPUR, March 15 — DAP has announced that it will be offering legal assistance to those who have been issued RM10,000 fine under Section 25 of the Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases Act 1988 to handle Covid-19 regulations.
The party’s Legal Aid Bureau Chairman Ramkarpal Singh said that this initiative will cover every state in the country, and that those in the bottom 40 per cent household (B40) category will be prioritised.
“Recently, DAP MPs and assemblymen have been receiving many complaints on the compound issue under the Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases Act 1988 where one can be penalised up to RM10,000,” he said in a statement.
He added that those who have been penalised under the Act can reach out to the party for further action, adding that more information on the assistance would be made available soon.
Provisions within the Emergency (Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases) (Amendment) Ordinance 2021 states that a person found breaching movement control order SOPs is subject to a fine compoundable up to a sum of RM10,000, a tenfold increase from the previous maximum compound value of RM1,000.
Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Abdul Hamid Bador had clarified that first-time offenders or those caught for minor offences could argue their case with the district health officers and are not necessarily made to pay the full RM10,000 fine.
However, since his remark there have been many cases that went viral on social media claiming that first-time offenders or those who did so by accident had been fined the full RM10,000 by the police.
Last week, the police said over 300 people have been fined the maximum amount.
This included an individual who failed to register himself using the MySejahtera application when entering a food outlet in Bukit Jalil.
Ipoh police was also forced to deny a viral case of an assistant cook who was allegedly issued an RM10,000 compound when he went to the back of the restaurant to smoke.
