A total of five men, including an owner of a gymnasium located in Kepala Batas, Penang, have been compounded for flouting the standard operating procedures (SOPs) during the current MCO 3.0 period yesterday (Wednesday, 15th June).
Seberang Prai Utara police chief ACP Noorzainy Mohd Noor said the fitness centre was found operating on Tuesday at around 5:40pm, when members of the Butterworth Station Task Force carried out the MCO 3.0 SOP Compliance Operations.
Noorzainy revealed that the gym operator was fined RM10,000, while the remaining male customers were each fined RM2,000. “During checks at the gym, we found it to be operating and there were five men inside. One of them is the owner while the rest are customers. All of them, aged between 36 and 52, were slapped with a compound for flouting the SOPs,” the police official stated.
The owner of the gym, who has been operating for two years, pleaded guilty and claimed that he had opened for business due to the requests of his customers. According to Noorzainy, “The inspection also found that a student was also at the premise, but there was no compound issued. We let the student off with a warning,” he further added.
In separate news, a group of individuals who underwent silat training at a house in Bandar Utama were slapped with compounds of RM1.5k each last night. During the operation at 12.10am, the cops inspected the residence after receiving a complaint from the public.
According to Petaling Jaya District Police Chief Assistant Commissioner Mohamad Fakhrudi Abdul Hamid, the group was found practising the martial arts at the house. “They were found to have breached the SOPs set by the National Security Council (NSC) during the MCO 3.0 period. The compounds were issued to every individual, aged between 26 to 51,” he said in a statement.
Fakhrudi further added that the action was taken in accordance with Regulation 17 (1) of the Infectious Diseases Prevention and Control Regulations Act 2021.
“The public is advised to follow the SOPs to avoid being compounded, arrested and subsequently prosecuted in court in accordance with the existing legal provisions,” he concluded.
Sources: NST, Harian Metro.
