Broke fishing duo who violated MCO escape jail term

CORONAVIRUS | Chin Chee Wei and Chong Poh Wah, who were looking at spending three months in prison because they could not afford to pay the fine for violating the movement control order (MCO), will now do three months of community service instead.

In reducing their sentence, the High Court in Taiping ordered the men to perform the service for four hours daily after the MCO is lifted.

“This is a reminder to the public not to violate the order. Let this be a lesson to everyone,” Judicial Commissioner K Muniandy said, according to Star Online.

Last week, Malaysiakini reported that roof tilers Chin, 45 and Chong, 56, were detained at a roadblock when the pair was travelling on a motorcycle with fishing rods.

The men, who hail from Sungai Siput, Perak, told the court later that they used to earn a daily wage of RM100 but this has been cut off due to the control order.

The pair said they were planning on catching fish for their own consumption.

Their case was brought to the Taiping High Court after National Legal Aid Foundation lawyer Balakrishna Balaravi Pillai, who represented the two, filed an application to review the decision.

Arguing that the two were first-time offenders, Balakrishna also pointed out that his clients were broke and had no savings, therefore having to resort to fishing to feed their families.

“Chin has two schooling children and a wife to feed while Chong is the sole breadwinner for his family.

“Both of them are labourers doing odd jobs in Sungai Siput, they were not fishing for trade, ” he said.

The lawyer added that both men were struggling to make ends meet even before the MCO was implemented on March 18.

Meanwhile, the Taiping High Court also ordered Chin and Chong to report to the Sungai Siput district police station every Monday during the MCO period.

Previously, Balakrishna had denied a claim that the duo had opted to be jailed.

The MCO was imposed to curb the spread of the Covid-19 virus. It was scheduled to end on March 31 but was extended until April 14.

During this period, the government mandated that only essential business and services could operate. - Mkini