KUALA LUMPUR, April 17 — Senior Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob said 1,057 people were arrested yesterday for violating the movement control order (MCO).
Of these, 906 were arrested, while 151 were released on police bail and 622 charged in court.
To date, he said the total for those caught disobeying the MCO stood at 12,074 people.
For yesterday, Ismail Sabri said the police and armed forces manned 813 roadblocks nationwide and inspected 557,699 vehicles.
“In addition, a total of 53,444 surprise inspections were conducted with 5,220 premises inspected,” said Ismail Sabri during a press conference this afternoon.
He said the arrests throughout the MCO period were made under the Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases Act 1988 (Act 342).
Malaysia is currently under the third phase of the MCO in an ongoing effort to break the chain of Covid-19 infection in the country.
The MCO was first enforced on March 18, but was extended before its expiration on April 14 to April 28. The latest extension will stretch into the first week of Ramadan, which is expected to commence on April 23.
On Tuesday, Ismail Sabri said that the police will be focusing less on issuing the RM1,000 compound notices to flouters of the MCO, and will now book them to be brought straight to court.
In a press conference in Putrajaya, Ismail Sabri said that the new decision was made by the government, seeing how many are still defying the MCO.
