ISMAIL Sabri Yaakob said Putrajaya will no longer go easy on those who breach Covid-19 quarantine orders, after a nasi kandar seller was today jailed and fined for doing just that.

The government now considers non-compliance with home-quarantine standard operating procedures to be a serious offence, the senior minister told a press conference in the Parliament building today.

“Anyone with a quarantine wristband found to be outside their home will face stern action. They will no longer be issued compounds, but will be brought to court. The sentencing will be up to the court.

“Offenders can be jailed, or fined, or both.”

This comes after the owner of a nasi kandar restaurant at the source of the Sivagangga cluster was jailed five months and fined RM12,000.

The cluster, which was first reported on July 28, originated in Napoh, Kubang Pasu, after the eatery owner, who is an Indian national with permanent resident status, disobeyed his home quarantine order upon returning to Malaysia.

As of yesterday, 45 people were confirmed infected after coming into contact with the index patient.

He is the first coronavirus patient to be charged and convicted for breaking quarantine rules. – August 13, 2020.

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