THE crime rate nationwide has dropped by 70% since the movement control order was imposed on March 18, said Senior Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob today.

Ismail Sabri said police informed him that the crime rate had decreased for the past three weeks.

“I have good news to share. The crime rate has fallen in the past three weeks. It has dropped by 70% nationwide,” he said during his daily press conference.

The defence minister said there were fewer arrests of MCO flouters yesterday compared to the day before.

“On Monday, 403 were detained for breaching the MCO. It is lower than the 554 arrested on Sunday, but 403 is still a huge number,” he said.

Of those arrested on Monday, 347 were remanded while 56 were freed on police bail.

Yesterday, Ismail revealed that the arrests on Sunday involved those who took the opportunity to drive out on the last day of the week during the restriction period.

Last week, Ismail announced a drop in arrests for the first time since the MCO began, with only 413 individuals detained on Thursday.

He announced a further drop in arrests, with only 368 apprehended on Friday.

Authorities have stressed the need to stay at home to bring down the number of Covid-19 cases so as to prevent straining the healthcare system.

Malaysia is also racing to prevent a peak of cases in mid-April as predicted by JP Morgan and the Malaysian Institute of Economic Research. – April 7, 2020.