214 fined for attempting interstate travel

PETALING JAYA: A total of 214 motorists have been issued with compounds after they were stopped for attempting interstate travel without permission on the first day of Hari Raya.

Senior Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob, who disclosed this yesterday, said another 14 were also fined for bypassing police roadblocks to get to their hometowns.

“Many did not believe me when I said that police will continue to monitor the situation during Hari Raya. Those who bypassed roadblocks will be found out.

“This was proven on Sunday, where 14 compounds were issued to those who had travelled interstate to get to their hometowns.

“This is a serious matter but many took it lightly,” he said in his daily press briefing yesterday.

Ismail Sabri said 162 roadblocks were put up to curb interstate travel, with 127,552 vehicles checked.

He said on Sunday, as many as 1,243 motorists were directed to turn back by police, with the figure at 1,158 on Saturday.

The state with the highest number of attempts of interstate travel was Selangor at 685, followed by Negri Sembilan (133) and Pahang (72).

Ismail Sabri also said that the authorities conducted 60,528 checks on compliance with the conditional movement control order (MCO) on the first day of Hari Raya.

He said the compliance task force headed by the police involved 2,876 teams comprising 15,023 officers.

The teams inspected, among others, 3,675 supermarkets, 3,102 restaurants, 330 hawkers, 753 factories and 3,742 banks.

The minister said inspections were also conducted at 1,022 land transport, 168 water transport and 101 air transport terminals.

He said 1,191 markets, 4,720 places of worship, 1,392 places of leisure and 247 construction sites were also checked.

Ismail Sabri said 470 people were arrested on the first day of Hari Raya, with 87 of them remanded and 23 were allowed police bail for offences related to the conditional MCO.

He said police also issued 383 compounds to those caught flouting the SOP on Covid-19.

“We thank all of our frontliners, including firefighters, town council officers, police, Civil Defence Force, armed forces, Rela and others involved in carrying out their duties on the first day of Hari Raya,” he said.

Meanwhile, Bernama reported that police would continue to track down motorists who managed to bypass roadblocks to cross states without approval.

Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Abdul Hamid Bador said those who escaped in their illegal interstate travel were being detected via inspection at roadblocks at Gombak toll plaza, Jalan Duta toll plaza, Sungai Besi toll plaza and Lebuhraya Kajang-Seremban.

He said the police’s action in issuing compunds might be seen as harsh but it was to protect the safety of the people.