IPOH: Five activists were charged at the Magistrate's Court here today with flouting the Conditional Movement Control Order (CMCO) by gathering at the compound of a hospital for the rights of the hospital's cleaners on Tuesday.
They were National Union of Workers in Hospitals Support and Allied Services (NUWHSAS) executive secretary, M. Sarasvathy, 67 who is also PSM's committee member; union officials, L. Danaletchumi, 35 and V. Santhiran, 52; and two other PSM activists, P. Jody, 61 and C.Subramane, 60.
They pleaded not guilty when the charge was jointly read before magistrate, Noor Azreen Liana Mohd Darus.
Deputy Public Prosecutor, K. Darinee, prosecuted while the accused were presented by lawyers, K.S Bawani and K. Kunasekaran.
According to the charge sheet, the five were found to have gathered for a social purpose at the compound of Raja Permaisuri Bainun Hospital (HRPB) in Jalan Hospital here at 12.10pm on June 2.
They were charged under Rules 7 (1) of the Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases (Measures within the Infected Local Areas) Regulations 2020 that carries a maximum fine of RM1,000 or six months' imprisonment, or both, upon conviction.
In mitigation, Bawani pleaded for a bail without payment stating that three of them were senior citizens with no fixed income and they all have no criminal records.
Meanwhile, Kunasekaran said they gathered at the hospital for a good cause where they wanted to submit a memorandum to care for the cleaners' wellbeing during the Covid-19 outbreak.
Noor Azreen Liana set bail at RM1,000 each, with one surety and fixed July 9 for mention.
It was reported in a news portal that the five kicked off a picket against Edgenta UEMS, a hospital cleaning service company, to address the hospital cleaners' grouses, including the lack of protective gear against infections, such as the Covid-19 virus.
The hospital cleaners also claimed that they were denied special government allowance of RM600 to frontline workers and the employer only paid a one-off token sum of RM300 to them.