MCO: Jailed single mum decries double standards in sentencing of Zahid's daughter, son-in-law

PETALING JAYA: A single mother who spent eight days in jail for breaching the movement control order (MCO) has questioned why Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi’s daughter and son-in-law were sentenced to a mere RM800 fine each for the same offence.

B. Lisa Christina, who was initially sentenced to 30 days in jail before having her sentence reduced to a RM1,000 fine, also pointed out that Datuk Nurulhidayah Ahmad Zahid and Datuk Saiful Nizam Mohd Yusoff’s fines were lower than hers.

“During the eight days in jail, I felt so shattered because I was unable to see my son and felt so embarrassed. I even had to borrow RM1,000 from my mother to settle the fine, ” she posted on Facebook.

Lisa added that she read on Tuesday (May 5) that Nurulhidayah and Saiful Nizam were given a RM800 fine “for an even bigger offence”.

“Why are there these double standards? I need an explanation for this, ” she said in her Facebook post on Tuesday.

On April 21, the Petaling Jaya Magistrate's Court sentenced her to a 30-day jail term.

Lisa, who lives in a fifth-floor apartment unit, was arrested by the police after she went to buy a packet drink and stopped to have a chat with three loitering Indonesians.

Her jail term was subsequently reduced to a fine after it was taken into account that she was a first-time offender and had already been in jail for eight days.

The Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases (Measures Within the Infected Local Areas) Regulations 2020 carries a maximum fine of RM1,000, six months’ imprisonment or both if convicted.

On Tuesday, Nurulhidayah and her husband were given an RM800 fine after pleading guilty to a charge of disobeying the MCO.

The breach came to light after Nurulhidayah had posted pictures of herself and her husband with Deputy Environment Minister Ahmad Masrizal Muhammad and Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Zulkifli Mohamad Al-Bakri on her Instagram account on April 20.