SIBU – Police did not deny allegations, when asked, that some residents of longhouses placed under lockdown in the district here had escaped using forest trails.
Sibu OCPD Stanley Jonathan Ringgit said police believed the residents could have crossed the orchards behind their longhouses to forest trails accessing the main road, but could not act on the matter due to lack of manpower and the wide areas needed to be covered.
“They can reach the main road on foot in two to three hours without us knowing as we only blocked the entrance road of their longhouses,” he told a press conference here today.
He said 48 longhouses were currently under lockdown since the Pasai Cluster was declared on January 7.
Allegations had spread on social media claiming that some residents in the longhouses had resorted to leaving their longhouses without the authorities’ knowledge as they were angry at being kept under lockdown for so long.
The claims had raised public concerns here as they feared efforts to flatten down the virus infection curve would be delayed, prolonging the movement control order currently imposed in the division.
Meanwhile, Sibu disaster management committee member Charles Siaw said that essential service operators were only required to apply for police permits for work-related travels during the MCO period if they wanted to go out of Sibu.
“It must be for work-related travel and it will be one application per company. It is not needed if you are not going out of Sibu or will not pass through any roadblocks.
“Those travelling in a personal capacity must apply for a different permit,” he said.
Employers are required to submit a copy of their business license, list of employee names, and identification numbers and work schedules when applying for permits at any police station, or contact the Covid-19 hotline at 013-9994158 for more information. – Bernama, January 25, 2021
