I CALL on the Perikatan Nasional government to cancel the compounds issued for violations of movement control order standard operating procedures, and rescind the increase in fine amount.
The risk of abuse by the authorities, together with the needless and severe punishment of the innocent, will not lead to better compliance with the SOPs. Instead, it will undermine efforts to contain the spread of Covid-19.
The PN government used the emergency to increase the penalties for violating the SOPs. With the Emergency (Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases)(Amendment) Ordinance 2021, penalties for offences under Section 24 of the Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases Act 1988 (Act 342) are increased from imprisonment of two years or a fine, to imprisonment of seven years or a fine of RM100,000. The fine amount under Section 25 of Act 342 is increased from RM1,000 to RM10,000.
The increase is drastic and out of proportion with the seriousness of non-compliance with the SOPs. Many people cannot afford to pay the RM10,000 fine.
This means that for all practical purposes, the PN government is sending these people to prison. It is simply irrational to provide the same punishment for an offence, for example, under Section 12(1) of the act, where a person who knows he is suffering from an infectious disease knowingly spreads the illness by breaching the SOPs, and when a healthy person who has no intention to spread a disease, accidentally fails to heed the SOPs.
The punishment for the two cases cannot be the same because one is far more serious and involves the element of criminal intent, while the other does not. The government has failed to appreciate the distinction between strict liability offences and those that require mens rea, or criminal intention.
The justification for strict liability cases is that such offences are not criminal in nature, and deal with minor infractions, such as the trafficking or sale of goods. They usually involve small fines, and never imprisonment.
The punishment for not complying with the SOPs by payment of a RM100,000 fine or seven years’ imprisonment is horrific. The aim of strict liability is deterring socially harmful behaviour. This aim cannot be furthered by punishing the obviously innocent. Punishment of the innocent will lead to public outrage, and undermines public confidence in the justice of the law and its administration.
Further, the ordinance, which amends Sections 24 and 25 of the act, is unlawful, because the ordinance has not been tabled in Parliament, as required by Article 150(3) of the constitution. In addition, the punishment provided for in the ordinance is unlawful because it is irrational, disproportionate and unreasonable.
I urge all who have been issued fines to seek legal advice. You may contact PKR Youth’s legal bureau through its Facebook page. – The Vibes, March 16, 2021
William Leong is Selayang MP
