LIPIS: A cleaner at a hospital here has been arrested for stealing 30 boxes of face masks yesterday in what is believed to be the first case involving the theft of the Personal Protective Equipment during the Covid-19 outbreak in the country.
The 26-year-old suspect, who works with a cleaning services company registered under the Health Ministry, was picked by the police in Lipis town yesterday afternoon before the stolen items worth RM3,000 were recovered.
The incident at a hospital here on Friday unfolded when the suspect, clad in his uniform, entered the hospital about 12.58pm before walking towards a store located inside a ward.
Two minutes later, the suspect walked out of the store carrying a black garbage bag believed to contain the 30 boxes of face masks belonging to the hospital before leaving the building.
Lipis district police chief Superintendent Azli Mohd Noor said a nurse noticed the missing surgical mask and realised the items were stolen after checking the closed circuit television (CCTV) recording.
"Prior to the incident, the nurse had entered the store room at 11.30am to take some gloves and noticed there were 35 boxes of surgical face masks. Later, when she returned to the store at 4pm, she discovered there were only five boxes left.
"When she checked the CCTV, she saw a male cleaner entering the ward and store room. She saw the cleaner walking out of the store room carrying a black garbage bag and a backpack," he said in a statement today.
Azli said no one was allowed to enter the store room except for the hospital staff who were working at the respective wards.
"Investigations showed that the suspect was not required to enter the ward section as he was a cleaner employed by a company involved in offering cleaning services to the hospital," he said.
He said the suspect has been remanded until March 31 for investigations under Section 380 of the Penal Code for theft.
It is learnt that the stolen masks had been prepared for medical staff at the hospital to treat Covid-19 cases.
Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Adham Baba was previously reported saying there has been a shortage of face masks in recent days following the Covid-19 outbreak and that supplies will be replenished soon.