With Malaysia currently facing a third wave of the Covid-19 pandemic, our authorities are not taking SOPs and rules lightly. In the Defence Minister’s daily updates, we’re shown how countless Malaysians are arrested for breaching SOPs and refusing to even wear masks.
One of the most important SOPs is of course whoever that returns from overseas and even Sabah or Sarawak is required to undergo a mandatory two-week quarantine period. A Singaporean was arrested on Saturday (24 October) for not only refusing to undergo the quarantine period but also for bribing a Malaysian immigration officer.
Utusan Malaysia reported that the 43-year-old who’s a director of a private company tried to offer the officer $33 (RM100) hoping that he could skip the mandatory two-week quarantine period. The immigration officer then lodged a report against the man which resulted in his arrest. The man will be remanded until 29 October to help with investigations.
Investigations showed that the suspect had given the immigration officer an RM100 bribe to allow him to enter Malaysia under the Reciprocal Green Lane (RGL) programme without undergoing the 14-day quarantine in Singapore as stated under the programme.
RGL is a program that allows cross border travel between Malaysia and Singapore but only for important businesses and official purposes.
The case is being investigated under Section 17 (b) of the MACC Act 2009 which is punishable by a fine of five times the value of the bribe or RM10,000 whichever is higher and imprisonment not exceeding 20 years if convicted.
Let this be a reminder for us to always follow SOPs strictly. After all, we are not our politicians who can easily breach SOPs and walk scot-free!
Also read: “You want faster, you can buy me a drink” PDRM Officer Caught On Video Asking Woman For Bribe
