A 29-year-old deliveryman who was waiting in his car for orders at a restaurant was fined RM1,000 for waiting around without a valid reason.
The incident happened at Jalan Eye of Malaysia in Kota Laksamana, Melaka at about 6pm on 22 January. Micheal Un Chee Wee was said to be parked about five minutes away from the restaurant, according to The Star.
Michael said that he was eating alone in his car while waiting for orders when he encountered three police officers half an hour later. They approached him and asked him what he was doing there.
Michael replied that he was an employee of a restaurant and was responsible for delivering orders, but without any explanation, the officers asked for his identification card and issued him a RM1,000 compound for loitering.
“The police wrote on the compound that I was hanging out for no reason, which made me feel very surprised because I was working. Because of the sudden incident, I felt frightened about the compound and panicked,” Michael said, according to Oriental Daily.
Michael added he had initially wanted to pay the fine immediately on the same day, but his cousin told him that the police’s reason for issuing the fine was too far-fetched and lodged a complaint on Saturday (23 January).
“At the time of the incident, there were cars parked on the side of the road in front of and behind me. There were people in the car, and there were many joggers around, but the police only issued a compound to me. I think this is unfair,” Michael said.
He then decided to ask for help from Kota Laksamana assemblyman Low Chee Leong.
In a statement on his Facebook page, Low said that it is understandable that the government is tightening standard operating procedures (SOP) during the Movement Control Order (MCO), but whether the incident involves abuse of power is another matter.
“The victim was alone in the car at the time and the police immediately issued a RM1,000 fine without hearing an explanation from the victim. This is very hefty for a worker and the victim did not violate any SOPs,” Low said.
He added that the reasons for the fine are inexplicable, illogical and not persuasive. Therefore, he will bring the victim to meet with the Melaka police chief to look into the case.
Meanwhile, Deputy Comm Datuk Abdul Majid Mohd Ali said he will check on the rationale of issuing the compound to Michael on 22 January.
“I will check the status and the reason,” he said when contacted by The Star on Monday night (25 January).
Also read: āTak logic. U bagitau Waze itu tepat tak?ā PDRM Fines Woman Who Was Within 10km From Home
