Food delivery riders not exempted from checks at roadblocks, say cops

Police say it is not true riders are allowed to go unchecked so they can deliver food faster to customers.

PETALING JAYA: Police say food delivery workers are not exempted from checks at roadblocks under Ops Covid-19.

Petaling Jaya police chief Nik Ezanee Mohd Faisal said the claim that food delivery workers were able to pass through roadblocks in the district without any inspection, so they can deliver food faster to customers, was not true.

He told of one instance where a food delivery rider had tried to smuggle drugs during the movement control order (MCO) but police apprehended him at a roadblock.

Previously, a video circulated on social media showed a Foodpanda rider’s food bag filled with cigarettes.

Foodpanda head of logistics Shubham Saran said the food delivery platform company was aware of the video and had taken action against the rider.

“We have investigated the case internally and have reprimanded the rider accordingly. The rider in the video was let off with a warning,” he said.

He assured the public that it was an isolated case.

Meanwhile, Defence Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob said police and the army had set up 769 roadblocks throughout the MCO.

As of April 8, he said, a total of 7,205 individuals had been arrested for breaking the MCO.- FMT