Coronavirus: Daughter of Malaysia’s former deputy PM Ahmad Zahid Hamidi fined for flouting lockdown
- Nurulhidayah Ahmad Zahid and her husband were fined 800 ringgit each for leaving their house for a meeting with a deputy minister on April 20
- They broke the Covid-19 movement control order which restricted travel outside a 10km radius
Nurulhidayah Ahmad Zahid, 41, and her husband Saiful Nizam Mohd Yusoff, 49, both pleaded guilty after the charges were read out separately before the magistrate on Tuesday.
They admitted to moving from a house in Kajang and heading towards the Department of Environment (DOE) in Putrajaya at 9am on April 20.
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The offence under Rule 3(1) of the Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases (Measures Within the Infected Local Areas) Regulations 2020 carries a maximum fine of 1,000 ringgit or up to six months in jail or both, upon conviction.
The magistrate also ordered the couple to serve three months in jail if they fail to pay the fine.
Earlier, Deputy Public Prosecutor Nur Ashikin Mokhtar asked the court to mete out a heavy sentence of maximum fine and imprisonment on the grounds that the offence took place during the third phase of MCO, which restricted travel outside a 10km radius.
“Their reasoning that they were invited by the minister was no excuse for them breaking the MCO,” she said.
Lawyer Ahmad Zaidi Zainal, who represented the couple, asked for the court to impose a bond on his clients instead, as a warning.
“If the court wishes not to impose a bond, we ask for a fine because my client attended the meeting with the deputy minister of the Environment and Water Ministry by the latter’s invitation to discuss celebrations for Earth Day,” he said.
The lawyer produced the letter, dated April 17, which bore the letterhead of the ministry and was addressed to Nurulhidayah.
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The magistrate then handed down his sentence.
The court initially allowed a limited number of reporters to be in the courtroom. However, they were asked to leave as the court was hearing remand proceedings before calling Nurulhidayah’s case.
As the case was called, the reporters were barred from re-entering.
See the original article at The Star
