Attorney-General Idrus Harun has withdrawn the blanket approval given to the health director-general to issue compounds to those who violate the movement control order (MCO).
In a letter to Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah dated yesterday and sighted by FMT, the Attorney-General’s Chambers’ (AGC) head of prosecution Manoj Kurup said the A-G had instructed that the blanket approval given a day earlier be cancelled.
Kurup said the A-G, after consideration, had agreed that state prosecution directors could be referred to for permission to issue compounds but on a case-by-case basis.
A senior AGC official who spoke on condition of anonymity confirmed the authenticity of the letter.
Earlier this week, senior minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob and Bukit Aman CID director Huzir Mohamed said police would no longer issue compounds for MCO violations.
They said offenders would be detained and prosecuted in court.
Offenders are charged under Regulation 6(1) of the Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases Act (Measures within the Infected Local Areas) Regulations 2020 which carries a fine of up to RM1,000, a maximum jail term of six months, or both upon conviction.
Huzir said 14,922 people had been arrested in the first two phases of the MCO, with 5,830 taken to court. The third phase of the MCO is from April 14 to 28. – FMT