Police arrest duo who refused to be quarantined
MIRI: Police here on Monday afternoon (Aug 10) arrested two male contractors who flew in from Kuala Lumpur but refused to be quarantined and disobeyed directives from the relevant authorities.
District police chief ACP Lim Meng Seah said the men arrived at Miri Airport at 2.40pm on Sunday.
When they refused to be quarantined as part of the precautions to curb the transmission of Covid-19, Health Ministry (MoH) personnel, Rozie Ramba ordered the men to purchase new flight tickets to return to Kuala Lumpur.
“After purchasing the tickets, both passengers avoided boarding the 5.50pm flight from Miri to Kuala Lumpur and instead, went to Miri City centre,” Lim said in a statement.
The next day (Monday) at 2.14pm, the police arrested the two men at Miri Airport as they violated the Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases (Measures within the Infected Local Areas) Regulations 2020.
Investigations revealed that the men arrived in Miri to attend a meeting at the Piasau Industrial Estate on Monday at 10am. They also stayed at Pullman Hotel Miri the night before the meeting.
Lim pointed out that both men were released on police bail because they had to be placed in a quarantine centre according to the MOH’s advice.
Prior checks found that one of the men had a drug-related record while the other did not have any criminal record.
Lim added that the two men would be charged in court after they were released from quarantine.
The case is being investigated under Section 269 of the Penal Code and Section 22 of the Prevention and Control of Infectious Disease 1988.
