KOTA KINABALU: A grass cutter, who removed his face mask as he wanted to take a breath, was sentenced to three weeks' jail by the Magistrate's Court, here.
Azawan Rajik, an IMM13 holder pleaded guilty before magistrate Lovely Natasha Charles, to violating the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP), which was an offence under Section 269 of the Penal Code.
It carries a jail term of up to six months or a fine or both, upon conviction.
Azawan, 25, was arrested for violating the SOP by not wearing a face mask in a public place near a bridge at One Borneo in Manggatal on June 4, at 4.20pm.
The fact of the case stated that Azawan was nabbed when police conducted Ops Covid-19 MCO 3.0 at the said area.
During mitigation, the unrepresented accused asked for a lenient sentence and told the court that he has a valid IMM13.
When asked by the court, Azawan explained that he was cutting grass near the bridge at about 2pm when he realised he had left his face mask nearby.
He then rushed to take the face mask, put it on, and continued running with his face mask on to his workplace.
However, when he arrived at said area, he took off the face mask to get some air to breathe.
At that point, Azawan said the police came to patrol the area and saw him without a face mask.
Upon hearing his explanation, the court asked whether he still wanted to plead guilty and Azawan maintained his guilty plea.
The court ordered Azawan to run his custodial sentence from the date of arrest - June 4, and he will be referred to the Immigration department thereafter.
Inspector Lim Swee Beng prosecuted the case.