Student jailed seven days, slapped with RM800 fine over cake

A student paid heavily for violating the movement control order (MCO) to pass a cake to her boyfriend when she was jailed seven days and fined RM800.

According to Bernama, the 22-year-old private university student was ordered by Shah Alam magistrate Ellyna Othman to serve the jail term from the date of her arrest on April 18.

The woman was also ordered to serve two months' jail should she be unable to pay the fine.

The woman's boyfriend, also 22, was handed a fine of RM1,000 or two months' jail for defying the MCO.

He had driven eight kilometres from his home to receive the cake that she had baked.

They were found by police seated in a car parked at Jalan SP1/8, Subang Perdana at around 9pm on April 18. The car was less than a kilometre from her home.

The boyfriend, a student at a public university was eating the cake when the duo was nabbed by the police.

Both of them pleaded guilty to the offence under Regulation 3 (1) of the Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases (Measures within the Infected Local Areas) Regulations 2020 and were sentenced under Regulation 11 (1) of the same legislation.

The couple's lawyer, Shalehhuddin Salam, pleaded for a lenient sentence as it was his client's first offence.

However, deputy public prosecutor Nur Syazwanie Marizan pressed for a stiff sentence, arguing that the accused must be taught a lesson while the people reminded that they should not take the MCO lightly.

"The female accused gave an absolutely unreasonable excuse for defying the MCO. She left her house to meet her boyfriend and gave him a cake which she had baked."

Ironically earlier this week, Deputy Rural Development Minister Abdul Rahman Mohamad who was pictured with a birthday cake on April 13 said that the cake was an unplanned surprise and he had not intended to violate the movement control order.

Abdul Rahman's was one of several cases featuring VIPs in photos where social distancing practices were not observed as prescribed under the MCO. - Mkini