Over 300 compounded for violating MCO in Penang since Jan 13, say cops

GEORGE TOWN: A total of 320 people have been slapped with a RM1,000 compound each for violating the movement control order as of Feb 9.

George Town OCPD Asst Comm Soffian Santong (pic) said the compounds were issued for various offences since the implementation of MCO on Jan 13.

"Most of the offences committed were gathering in public places without valid reason during the MCO," he said during an operation to monitor standard operating procedure (SOP) compliance at Cecil Street Market on Wednesday (Feb 10).

He said on the operation, dubbed as Ops Bersasar, involved a team of six officers and police personnel from George Town police headquarters. The team is focused on places frequently visited by the public.

He said during the operation at the market, police found there were still many weaknesses in terms of public entry and exit among patrons at the public market.

"Since the market area is adjacent to the hawker centres, we found there were a lot of visitors here today, and we believed most of the them were here to do their shopping for the upcoming Chinese New Year," he said.

ACP Soffian said in effort to better manage the flow of visitors to the market, police will cooperate with Penang Island City Council (MBPP) and the market organiser to improve the system.

"We will discuss and decide the best way to manage the system," he said.

He said a total of 15 compounds were issued during the operation today at public places such as wet market, groceries and construction sites.

ACP Soffian said police will continue to monitor the SOP compliance and will use different methods, including deploying undercover officers at public places.

He call public to continue to strictly follow the SOP so that the Covid-19 infection can be prevented.