13 People Fined RM19,500 For Violating Friday Prayer SOPs At A Mosque In Kuala Kedah

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The three teams together with a team from the Ministry of Home Affairs went to the location at about 2pm on Friday and found that a group of 34 individuals including children were inside the mosque.

Under the Kedah Islamic Religious Affairs Department's standard operating procedures (SOPs) for Movement Control Order (MCO), religious activities during the MCO period limits the number of people inside a mosque to 13 including mosque officers and committee members, Bernama reported.

According to Kota Setar police chief ACP Ahmad Shukri Mat Akhir, they let the people first complete their prayers before taking action against them for violating the SOPs.

"They observed physical distancing and wore face masks during prayers but violated the SOPs regarding the number of congregation members," he was quoted as saying.

The people compounded were aged between 18 and 82 years old.

The total compound came up to RM19,500.

Ahmad Shukri said that the RM10,000 compound issued to the mosque was for failing to ensure compliance with the guidelines about the number of congregation members inside during the prayers.

He also said that despite the ongoing COVID-19 situation in the country, there were still people who tried giving lame excuses or pretended not to know about the SOPs.