KOTA KINABALU: The Magistrate's Court here has sentenced a jobless mechanic to three-months of community service after he admitted to flouting the Movement Control Order (MCO).
Magistrate Jessica Ombou Kakayun sentenced Mohd Fadzil Benedict, 25, after he pleaded guilty to violating Rule 3 (1) of the Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases (Measures within the Infected Local Areas) Regulations 2020.
Fadzil was accused of flouting the MCO at Jalan Kampung Sembulan Lama here, at 9.15pm, on April 4.
He was accused of intentionally being in an area declared a Covid-19 contagious zone, without police permission.
Deputy public prosecutor Adibah Saiful Bahri conducted the prosecution, while Fadzil was represented by Lawrence Lim.
During mitigation, Lim said his client is a mechanic but has been left with no job following the MCO.
"He is divorced and has two children. He also has no criminal record. I was told he had gone to meet with his former brother-in-law to look for a job. I pray that the court will give a lower sentence," he said.
Adibah, however, said it is not reasonable for the accused to go out and that his action did not help in breaking the chain of Covid-19 infection.
The court then ordered Fadzil to undergo community service for three months, during which he is required to perform four hours of service for each session.
Meanwhile, the same court also sentenced two men to four months’ jail and a RM500 fine, in default of one-month imprisonment, for violating the MCO on April 1.
Eric Borhan, 25, and Ajin Teddy, 26, pleaded guilty when the charge was read to them before Kakayun.
They were both accused of operating a shop in Inanam, which is an area declared a contagious zone, at 8.30pm.
Kakayun also ordered the duo, which had no documents, to be referred to the Immigration Department after completing their jail sentence.