Selangor Journal
Police, with the help of army personnel, conduct a roadblock at the Federal Highway heading towards Shah Alam, on April 7, 2020. — Picture by ASRI SAPFIE/SELANGORKINI

Crime rate down by 70 pct during MCO period, says minister

By Ashwin Kumar

SHAH ALAM, April 7 — The crime index has dropped 70 per cent nationwide since the implementation of the movement control order (MCO), which came into force on March 18, says Senior Minister (Security Cluster) Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob.

He said this was revealed by the police in a report presented during the Special Ministerial Committee meeting.

“We received the good news that the crime index has gone down during the MCO.

“This is a relieve for the people who are concerned with the security issues during the MCO… the statistics have shown a decrease of 70 per cent,” said Ismail at a press conference in Putrajaya today.

Previously, Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Abdul Hamid Bador had said that the police were able to identify criminals, who are taking advantage of the MCO, at the roadblocks.

Meanwhile, Ismail said there was a slight improvement on the MCO compliance yesterday, in comparison to the day before, which saw a spike in the number of arrests.

He said 403 people were arrested yesterday for flouting the MCO, which was less in comparison to the 554 arrests on Sunday.

“The statistics showed a decrease in the number of arrests compared to the previous day.

“Although there is a drop, the number of arrests is still high compared to the days before. I hope the downward trend will continue,” he said.

According to Ismail, the police, with the help of the Malaysian Armed Forces (ATM), had conducted 763 roadblocks across the country and inspected 443,160 vehicles on Monday.

He said the authorities had carried out 36,483 spot-checks and inspected 4,570 premises.

On a separate matter, Ismail said all 18 red zones in the country has gone through the public disinfection process.

“We have carried out the decontamination operation in 79 areas, including 21 orange zones. As of today, all of the 18 red zones have been disinfected,” he said.

He added that 514 government buildings and 17 People’s Housing Projects (PPR) involving 24,077 residential units were also disinfected.

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