Beware of surprise visits from cops - The Star Online

PETALING JAYA: Eight police teams here will be making surprise visits during Hari Raya Aidilfitri to ensure compliance to the movement control order which disallows visits or open houses.

Petaling Jaya OCPD Asst Comm Mohamad Fakhrudin Abdul Hamid has cautioned that those planning to organise such events will face a RM25,000 compound.

Those caught visiting would face RM5,000 compounds, he said.

“We want to ensure that no one is organising open houses or entertaining visitors, which is prohibited, ” he told reporters yesterday.

ACP Mohamad Fakhrudin said they would tighten these checks in the run-up to Hari Raya Aidilfitri tomorrow.

Eight teams would be conducting checks, he added.

“During Hari Raya, they will be patrolling neighbourhoods, ” he said.

The rules and movement restrictions concerning Hari Raya celebrations were announced by Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin on Monday.

Among others, visits to cemeteries during the Hari Raya are also banned.

Only 50 people are allowed in mosques and surau with capacity exceeding 1,000; while 20 people are allowed in mosques that can accommodate fewer than 1,000 people, for Hari Raya prayers.

Meanwhile, Bukit Aman Traffic and Enforcement Department deputy director Senior Asst Comm Datuk Mohd Nadzri Husain said police launched a week-long Ops Rentas to check on those bent on crossing borders to return to their hometown for Hari Raya.

He said the exercise, which started on Monday, was also to ensure that those who had approval to travel interstate would adhere to all traffic rules.

During Ops Rentas, he said roadblocks would be set up along the North-South Expressway and the East Coast Expressway.

Under Ops Rentas, the highway network has been divided into five zones and 28 sectors. Roadblocks will be set up at scheduled times.

“The highway network will be divided into the northern, central A and B, southern and eastern zones.

“Roadblocks will not remain static in one location but will keep on changing after a few hours, ” he told reporters in Seremban when launching the operation which would be held until May 16.

SAC Mohd Nadzri said state police contingents had also set up 349 roadblocks in their areas.

He advised the people not to violate the interstate travel ban as offenders would not only be ordered to turn back but would be slapped with a compound for violating the Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases Act.

“We hope all Malaysians will give us their cooperation because we do not want the Covid-19 situation to worsen, ” he said.

SAC Mohd Nadzri said apart from accident hotspots, roadblocks along the highway would be set up at spots where people could make interstate crossing.

On complaints that such roadblocks would cause traffic congestion, he said the police had no other option as they had to thoroughly check the documents provided by motorists.

“We need time to check the documents as there were cases where people had tried to cheat their way through using photocopies of letters and other fake documents, ” he said.

Police, he said, would also use special equipment such as In Car Radar and i-Cops during the operation to detect those who flout traffic rules.

The high-tech equipment allows policemen to, among others, immediately check if a particular vehicle had outstanding summonses or the speed it was being driven.

On a separate matter, SAC Mohd Nadzri said 28,919 summonses were issued to motorists nationwide for various traffic offences during the week-long pre-Ops Rentas which started on May 3.