KUALA LUMPUR – Inspector-Genera of Police, Tan Sri Abdul Hamid Bador regarded the act of hurling various accusations at the police, to an extent that it has created a negative perception of the force, as that by individuals who want to be ‘popular’.
He said, claims such as the police are cruel for imposing stern action, including hefty compound, is inappropriate as every action by the police is in accordance with the Emergency (Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases)(Amendment) Ordinance 2021 in an effort to break the Covid-19 chain.
“People take advantage, some want to be popular, they throw all sorts of wild accusations and then, hide their hands. For example, the case in Lahad Datu, where the police allegedly arrested many beggars there.
“Actually, in Pala’u, people can be seen begging at almost every traffic light, so, the police went to arrest them, especially with the current situation with the virus spreading.
“In Sabah, the number of case has dropped to 35 and we want to reduce it further.
“Therefore, the police must take action to prevent them from roaming around as they may be infected. So, the police arrested them, but what came out in the news said that the police imposed a compound action of RM10,000 against them.
“The real story is, we arrested them under the Immigration Act and then, handed them over to the Social Welfare Department. There was no compound issued… we know they can’t afford the compound. They don’t even have RM5, what more RM10,000?
“So, to say that the police are cruel is indeed unfair,” he told BERNAMA.
Likewise, he said, in the case involving a man and his girlfriend who were allegedly issues a compound of RM10,000 recently while eating and drinking in Cheras.
He said, the action was not taken by the police but by another government agency.
Therefore, the public should be more mature and not simply accuse the police as the action taken by the police is for the interests of the people and to curb the spread of Covid-19 pandemic.
As the law enforcers, the action of the police was in accordance with Act 342 on the control of infectious diseases.
“The law comes under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Health (MOH) (Act 342). We were asked and authorised to assist MOH in enforcing the law,” he said, adding that the issue on the RM10,000 compound has been discussed since the third wave of Covid-19 when new clusters emerged and began to spread in the community.
“The RM10,000 compound is not intended for first time offender, but for those who commit the offence for subsequent times, those who have been compounded for violating the standard operating procedures (SOP),” he added.
He said, those who felt they were not guilty and were victimised for being issued with the hefty compound may appeal to the Ministry of Health through the District Health Office where the compound notice was issued. -BERNAMA
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