SIBU: A site supervisor who broke the Covid-19 quarantine order was fined RM5,000 in default two months’ jail by the Magistrate’s Court today after he pleaded guilty yesterday.
Magistrate’s Muhammad Faizal Che Saad passed the sentence based on public interest and the nature of the case.
The accused, Jeffery Jambo Dana, 27, who was unrepresented, was charged with breaking his quarantine about 9am on May 25 by having a plate of noodle in a cafe at Sibujaya.
His 14-day quarantine order required him to stay home until May 30 after returning from Kuala Lumpur where he was working.
He even proudly posted on his Facebook page a photo of himself enjoying his meal.
In being at the cafe, he violated the Observation and Surveillance of the Contacts Order under Section 15(1) of the Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases Act 1988.
The offence came under Section 22(b) of the Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases Act 1988.
In his mitigation, Jeffery pleaded for leniency saying that he was remorseful for having committing the offence. He also said that he had to support his underage child, two siblings and parents.
Prosecutor Wilfred John from the State Health Department asked the court to pass a deterrent sentence saying that the accused had flouted the home quarantine order and that his ‘actus reus’ had betrayed the frontliners that had been working very hard to stop the spread of Covid-19.
Wilfred said a heavier sentence would also serve as a lesson for the accused and the general public to abide by the rules and regulation of the Act and the guidelines set by the Health Ministry to break the chains of Covid-19 transmission.
