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MCMC: News Of 2 Men Fined For Not Wearing Masks After Taking A Sip Of Drink Is Fake

According to the Kerian district police chief, the men were not practising physical distancing throughout 10 minutes of police observation.

Cover image via Bernama & Sin Chew Daily

Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) just issued a statement regarding the news of two men in Perak that were allegedly fined for not pulling up their masks after taking a sip of their drinks

The statement by MCMC was issued today, 13 November at 8am.

It read, "Notice of false news. The following is a disclaimer regarding news that went viral on social media."

"Kerian district police chief denies allegations that two teenagers were fined RM1,000 for taking off their face masks to drink at Taman Wawasan, Parit Buntar, as circulated on social media."

According to the statement, the two men were actually teenagers aged 17 and 18.

It is then explained that they were fined for not practising physical distancing.

"The compound issued to the two teenagers aged 17 and 18 is not only because they were not wearing face masks, but also because they did not practise physical distancing of 1m throughout 10 minutes of police observation by officers on duty," the statement read.

Previously, it was reported that police approached a man named Lee and his friend right after they finished taking a sip of their drinks

According to Sin Chew Daily, the two bought drinks from a nearby store and after taking a sip, they placed their drinks in their respective motorcycle baskets.

At that moment, three policemen appeared and accused them of not wearing face masks.

Photos of the tickets issued by the police show that the two men were fined for not wearing face masks without any further clarification or elaboration.

Image via Sin Chew Daily

Read the full statement here:

Remember to limit your movement and wash your hands often. Watch the latest update on the COVID-19 situation:

The two men were told to pay the fine at the Kerian district health office:

Meanwhile, wearing face masks in public has been made mandatory since 1 August:

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