KLUANG: An Indonesian national was sentenced to five days' jail and a fine of RM4,000 after being found guilty by the Magistrate's Court here, today, for violating the Quarantine Order.
According to the charge sheet, Maksan, 41, arrived at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) from Lombok, Indonesia on July 2 and was ordered to observe the mandatory 14-day Surveillance and Observation Order by virtue of Section 15 (1) of the Disease Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases Act 1988 (Act 342).
Magistrate Arun Noval Dass passed the sentence on Maksan after taking into consideration the public interest, especially the importance of preventing members of the public from committing the same offence as the accused.
The accused was found to have violated Section 22 (b) by not complying with any lawful order issued by an officer authorised under Act 342, and as such, may be punished under Section 24 (a), which comprises a jail term not exceeding two years, or a fine, or both under the same Act.
Based on the facts of the case, the accused left the isolation room of the Bahagia Elderly Care Centre, Taman Bahagia in Kluang during the quarantine order period of between July 2 and July 18, thus posing a Covid-19 transmission risk.
Maksan, who was un-represented, urged for a lighter sentence, saying that she regrets violating the order and has to take care her ill son.
Prosecuting officer Anuar Nordin, however, urged the court to impose an appropriate and maximum sentence on the accused as a lesson to others as there are still many who continue to disobey the order.