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A man in Sabah has been sentenced to three weeks of jail for violating COVID-19 standard operating procedure (SOP)
New Straits Times reported that the accused is a 25-year-old IMM13 pass-holder and he pleaded guilty before magistrate Lovely Natasha Charlesis at the Kota Kinabalu Magistrate’s Court today, 18 June.
IMM13 is a temporary pass issued to refugees by the Sabah Immigration Department.
Image for illustration purposes only.
Image via Berita Harian
On 4 June, he was arrested for not wearing a face mask in a public place near a bridge at One Borneo in Manggatal.
When asked by the court, he explained that he was cutting grass near the bridge when he took off the face mask to get some air to breathe.
He said that it was about 2pm when he realised he had left his face mask nearby. He then rushed to take the face mask, put it on, and continued running to his workplace.
However, when he arrived, he briefly took the face mask off to get some air.
At that point, police came to patrol the area and saw him without a face mask.
Image for illustration purposes only.
Image via ACE Hardware
Upon hearing his explanation, the court asked whether he still wanted to plead guilty and he decided to maintain his guilty plea
During mitigation, the unrepresented accused asked for a lenient sentence and told the court that he has a valid IMM13.
The court ordered him to run his custodial sentence from the date of arrest, 4 June, and he will be referred to the Immigration Department thereafter.
New Straits Times also noted that Insp Lim Swee Beng prosecuted the case.