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Police Say MAEPS Medics Questioned To Assist In Investigating Alleged Trespass By Media

Kuala Lumpur police chief Datuk Azmi Abu Kassim clarified that they are investigating allegations that six media personnel trespassed the COVID-19 quarantine centre at the Malaysia Agro Exposition Park Serdang on the day of the strike.

Cover image via Ghazali Kori/Berita Harian

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Police are not investigating contract doctors who took part in the #HartalDoktorKontrak strike on Monday, 26 July, in the Klang Valley, according to Kuala Lumpur police chief Datuk Azmi Abu Kassim

New Straits Times quoted Azmi saying that as of now, no doctors were being investigated for their participation in the protest urging the government to give contract doctors permanent positions.

"I do not know of any doctors being investigated over the incident," he said.

He clarified that they are investigating allegations that six media personnel trespassed the COVID-19 quarantine centre at the Malaysia Agro Exposition Park Serdang (MAEPS) on the day of the strike

According to Azmi, police only went over to MAEPS at midnight, 28 July, to record the doctors' statements after the management of the MAEPS COVID-19 Integrated Quarantine and Treatment Centre (PKRCB) lodged a report alleging that six media personnel from various agencies had trespassed.

The same was also stated by Sepang district deputy police chief Supt Md Noor Aehwan Mohammad, who said that police have recorded the statements from 17 individuals over the matter.

"The area concerned is a hall that had 496 positive COVID-19 patients. The hall has been gazetted as a quarantine and treatment centre, and outsiders cannot enter without permission. One of the media personnel who entered the hall even made a live video upon entering," Malay Mail reported him as saying.

The investigations are being carried out under Section 448 of the Penal Code for trespassing and Rule 17(1) of the Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases (Measures Within Infection Local Areas) Regulations 2021.

Meanwhile, Md Noor defended the process of recording the statement from doctors at the MAEPS PKRCB past midnight

The Star quoted him saying that when they arrived at the centre, all personnel whose statements were recorded were on duty and they were at the location during the incident on Monday, 26 July.

"We never disturbed the duties of the doctors as they took turns to have their statements recorded," he told the English daily, adding that many doctors had their statements recorded as witnesses.

Earlier it was reported that police had gone to the premises and interviewed 12 doctors at the MAEPS PKRCB for over four hours:

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