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Petri Dish Detention By Mohammed Ibraheem Zakzaky

The world is gripped in the Coronavirus reality and the immense panic and disruption it brings along with it. This virulent scourge has cut a path less trodden by viruses, as it infects and spreads with little regard for all the norms of red tape that has allowed the murder and official disappearance of many, including my six brothers. By the time it begins to execute those whose death sentences it has written and signed it is always 10 steps ahead on the paperwork. That is almost eight steps ahead of professionals like Buhari.

The virus is a near perfect beta of a doomsday virus. Even the most hard-line sceptics have ended up dumbfound by just how profoundly serious Covid-19 is as a survivalist organism that is here to accomplish its apocalyptic mission. Though many medical experts have since been pressured, pressed and forced to promise a vaccine and possible cure within the next few months to a year; the truth is that the threat is clearly unprecedented.

In my case I went to sleep in a world where my priority was to deliver food and medical aid to my parents in Kaduna Prison; only to wake up and realize that there was an even larger number of factors in play. I slept knowing full well that it was an uphill battle against the entire regime of Major-General-Buhari and his army of punitive henchmen; to all of a sudden be confronted by a Diablo ex-Machina; courtesy of the novel corona virus AKA Covid-19.

Now all visits to prison by anyone and everyone were effectively and strictly forbidden. I understood and reasoned that it was the proper measure to prevent contagion of this clearly deadly disease. The last thing I would want is to be a part of what makes my already sickly parents sicker; or worse.

In spite of the fact that I had completed all arrangements to have doctors visit both my parents in Kaduna Prison, in order to provide them with relief for their existing medical conditions due to age and a plethora of wounds they sustained during the attack and subsequent ransacking of our home by the Nigerian Army. All of which have all gone untreated during the past five years.

I still thought and reasoned that a quarantine of the entire area was the best measure possible in the short term, considering the existing circumstances. As a result of this I made all the necessary apologies to cancel appointments with all the doctors and hospitals, to ensure that the quarantine in Kaduna Prison will hold and be maintained. I then did all in my power to send masks, hand sanitizers, gloves, soap and vitamins. All in an effort to stay safe and keep everyone safe.

I have now since been jolted out of the stupor of perceived safety by terrible news. There has been a violent incident inside Kaduna Prison, which has rendered my memory of the Zaria Massacre of 2015 raw. As the harrowing sounds of another rampage of gun fire was heard from Kaduna Prison, where my parents are currently being detained.

All my frantic calls to the Controller of Prisons and his deputy were not answered, as the sounds of gun fire continued to rage. All my efforts to learn what was really going on failed. I have however been able to learn a few things through the few answered calls. All of them agree on the following.

1.      There has been a surge of Covid-19 symptomatic prisoners in Kaduna Prison.

2.      Staff of the prison clinic have been avoiding three symptomatic prisoners particularly.

3.      Three of them were removed and one was returned on Tuesday.

4.      A number of Prisoners strongly objected to the re-introduction of the prisoners.

5.      The prison staff tried to calm things down by trying to reason with them.

6.      The Prison’s armed squad were then deployed, to supress an alleged prison break.

7.      After a period of automatic fire in the air and on target, calm was restored.

8.      The prisoners suspected of Covid-19 are among those reported shot and killed.

9.      Bullet canisters were still littered all over the place 3 hours later.

10. Many of the Kaduna prison staff are visibly injured, some with serious injuries.

11. A significant number of the injured staff were seen walking around in blood-soaked uniforms.

12. So called normalcy has been enforced, and returned at an unknown cost.

The fact remains that the highly crowded, unsanitary conditions of Kaduna Prison remains a highly contagious environment, that is no place for my vulnerable mother and father, both of whom are above 50 years of age. Both of whom are un-healthy, both of whom are suffering from an unprecedented number of health issues that have remained untreated and unattended.

Due to a determination by the regime of Heil! Major-General Buhari and his now contagious Governor El-Rufai and their army of undertakers. It is unclear what is really going on at the site of all the intense gunfire that was heard in Kaduna Prison. Aside from the above stated facts, I can say no more.

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Mohammed Ibraheem Zakzaky

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April 2, 2020
Better air quality since first phase of MCO: Tuan Ibrahim

PUTRAJAYA: The enforcement of the first phase of Movement Control Order (MCO) on March 18 until yesterday has not only helped to break the chain of Covid-19, it has in fact reduced environmental pollution as well, according to Environment Minister Datuk Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man.

“This followed a reduction of activities such as vehicle exhaust emission, industrial stack emission and open burning,” he said.

He said a detailed analysis by the Department of Environment (DOE) on several main parameters namely nitrogen dioxide (NO2), sulphur dioxide (SO2), carbon monoxide (CO) and fine particles of 2.5 microns (PM2.5) found their levels have fallen significantly.

Tuan Ibrahim said the monitoring was conducted at the air quality monitoring stations in Batu Muda and Cheras in Kuala Lumpur as well as Putrajaya.

“All three areas recorded marked drop of between 55 to 68% for NO2; 17 to 34% for SO2; six to 15% for CO; and six to 14% for PM2.5,” he said in a statement, here today.

Tuan Ibrahim said apart from that, DOE also expanded the analysis to air quality monitoring stations at several major cities such as Shah Alam, Ipoh, Penang, Kuantan, Seremban, Melaka, Johor Bahru, Kuching and Kota Kinabalu for the same period.

“The findings also showed significant fall in each parameter with NO2 reduced between 11 to 62%, SO2 between five to 22%, CO between two to 25% and PM2.5 between two to 23%,” he said.

The latest hourly Air Pollutant Index (API) is available on DOE website at http://apims.doe.gov.my/v2/ or by downloading the official smart phone application, MyIPU via Android Google Play and at Apple App Store.

Tuan Ibrahim also advised the people not to carry out opening burning to reduce the risk of fires in the hot and dry weather now.

Members of the public can report cases of open burning to the Fire and Rescue Department at 999 or DOE’s toll free line at 1-800-88-2727. – Bernama

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March 31, 2020
Covid-19: Marang Prison takes precautionary measures

KUALA TERENGGANU: Although a prison is relatively safe from Covid-19 as its inmates lack interaction with the outside world, the Marang Prison has taken precautions to reduce the risk of infection.

Marang Prison director Assistant Commissioner Wan Sani Abd Latiff said screening of all personnel and visitors has been conducted and those with body temperatures exceeding 36 degrees Celsius are not allowed in.

“All staff and visitors are also required to use hand sanitisers and face masks. The management has also prepared a rest house for officers who have completed their guard duty at hospital wards to clean themselves up before heading home,“ he told Bernama when contacted, here today.

No Covid-19 cases have been reported at the Marang Prison, which has 2,910 inmates and 398 staff, he added.

He said about 25 personnel from the Hazardous Materials (Hazmat) unit and Terengganu Fire and Rescue Department carried out cleaning and disinfection exercises at the prison this morning.

“As an additional precautionary measure, new prisoners will be screened outside the main entrance and those experiencing Covid-19 symptoms will undergo medical examination and be quarantined in separate rooms.

“The prison personnel are also practising social distancing at work as advised by the Health Ministry,“ he said, adding that officers have been briefed by the prison’s health personnel on the threat posed by the virus. – Bernama

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March 31, 2020
Muhyiddin visits MAEPS low-risk patient Quarantine & Treatment Centre

SERDANG: Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin today visited the Quarantine and Treatment Centre for low-risk Covid-19 patients at the Malaysia Agro Exposition Park Serdang (MAEPS) here.

The prime minister was accompanied by Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Adham Baba, Ministry of Health (MOH) secretary-general Datuk Seri Dr Chen Chaw Min and Health director-general Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah.

Muhyiddin, who arrived at the centre at 5.45pm, spent almost an hour being briefed and touring the centre, which was successfully prepared for operations by various government agencies, under the coordination of the National Disaster Management Agency (Nadma), within three days.

Met after the visit, Dr Adham told reporters that the centre was the brainchild of the prime minister himself to prepare for any possibility of a drastic surge in the number of Covid-19 infections.

“We will treat Covid-19 positive patients who are asymptomatic or have mild symptoms here,” he said.

The centre has the capacity to place up to 600 patients at any one time and it will be coordinated by Nadma with the cooperation of the MOH, the Armed Forces, the Fire and Rescue Department, the Civil Defence Force, the Social Welfare Department and the Public Works Department.

Among others, it will provide clinical services, Covid-19 wards, resuscitation areas to stabilise patients during emergencies, as well as ambulance, pharmacy and pathology laboratory services.

Facilities for patients include beds, tables and chairs, lockers, television, lounges, Wifi access, computers, surau, closed-circuit television (CCTV), toilets and baths, changing rooms and rest areas.

For those on duty, there are nurse stations, treatment/resuscitation room, rest areas, changing rooms and baths, including for the ‘donning and doffing’ of personal protective equipment (PPE) as well as meeting and seminar rooms. – Bernama

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March 30, 2020
Disinfection exercise conducted at Johor Covid-19 red zone areas

JOHOR BARU: The Johor Fire and Rescue Department (JBPM) today conducted disinfection operations at two red zone areas namely Kampung Sinaran Baru, Kempas, near here, and Kampung Dato’ Ibrahim Majid in Simpang Renggam, near Kluang.

Its director Datuk Yahaya Madis said various agencies including 27 police personnel, 22 People’s Volunteer Corps (Rela) volunteers, 10 Solid Waste and Public Cleansing Management Corporation (SWCorp) employees and 35 SWM Enviroment staff participated in the exercise.

According to him, the disinfectants were sprayed on the village lanes using vehicles, adding that the vehicles did not enter the premises area.

“The disinfectant spraying was carried out by SWCorp and SWM Enviroment while JBPM was tasked with the decontamination process. PDRM and Rela took care of security control,“ he said when met after the operation at Kampung Sinaran Baru, here today.

“I hope the villagers will cooperate and will not go out (during the Movement Control Order). Stay away from the prohibited areas. We will make sure the areas where they get their essentials goods are safe and sanitized,“ he said.

He added that the areas to be disinfected were selected based on needs and information received from the district officers and district health offices.

Both villages had recorded relatively high number of Covid-19 infection cases. – Bernama

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March 30, 2020
RM200 monthly assistance for firefighters during MCO: Zuraida

KUALA LUMPUR: Housing and Local Government Minister Zuraida Kamaruddin (pix) today announced that Malaysian Fire and Rescue Department (JBPM) personnel will receive RM200 per month throughout the implementation of the Movement Control Order (MCO).

She said the incentive was an appreciation of their roles and services as front liners as the country sought to combat the spread of the Covid-19 outbreak.

“In recognition of the roles of JBPM personnel as front liners, the government through the ministry will provide RM200 per month throughout the MCO period,” she said in a public service announcement which was broadcast on all television stations today.

She said the incentive was part of her ministry’s initiatives implemented under the RM250 billion people-centric economic stimulus package (Prihatin) announced by Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin on Friday.

The Prihatin package covers all walks of life and also focuses on the B40 group, including those living in low-cost flats across the country, small traders and factory workers.

Zuraida said several other initiatives implemented by her ministry under the Prihatin package include the six months rental payment exemption for the People’s Housing Projects (PPRs) under the ministry’s management, involving 3,636 units of housing and costing the government RM3 million.

“There is also a six-month deferment of monthly repayment from April to September for the Rent to Own (RTO) of PPR units under the ministry’s management involving a total of RM5.7 million and 4,649 units of houses,” she said.

Zuraida, who is also Ampang MP, said to ease the burden of borrowers, all pawn brokers registered under the ministry were directed to extend the redemption period without charging interest during the MCO period. – Bernama

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March 29, 2020
Police close four roads in PJ

KUALA LUMPUR: Police today closed four roads in the Petaling Jaya area under the Movement Control Order (MCO).

They are Jalan 5/46 Gasing Indah (Petaling Jaya); Jalan Persiaran Mahogani (Section 9); Jalan Persiaran Jati (Section 8); and Jalan Persiaran Sungai Buloh (TSB) in Kota Damansara.

Petaling Jaya District Police chief ACP Nik Ezanee Mohd Faisal said the closures were to control the movement of residents and reduce the risk of Covid-19 infection.

He said motorists could use alternative routes like Jalan Pantai-New Pantai Expressway (NPE), Jalan Persiaran Kenanga-Kota Damansara Toll, Jalan Persiaran Surian-Palm Spring Kota Damansara and Jalan Persiaran Tropicana-Casa Tropicana.

“After 11 days of the MCO, we found that people are beginning to get used to it and becoming more responsible, although there are defiant individuals who used alternative routes to avoid the six road blocks that have been set up,” he said in a statement today, adding that the road closures were being carried out after reviewing the Health Ministry’s infection trend and statistics.

He, however, said that the closed roads could still be accessed by ambulances, police vehicles and those from the Fire and Rescue Department and Petaling Jaya City Council.

“We suggest that those affected by the closures obey the MCO and be patient in facing the difficulties in a bid to stem the spread of the virus,” he said, adding that four personnel would be stationed at each road closure for 24 hours daily. — Bernama

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March 28, 2020
Justice For Sambo Abdullahi, Victory For Whistleblowers In Nigeria By Chido Onumah and Godwin Onyeacholem

Whistleblowers are the first line of defence against corruption, crime and cover-ups, according to a 2019 paper by the All–Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on whistleblowing in the UK.

For Sambo Abdullahi, head of internal audit at the Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading (NBET) Plc, it has been one long tortuous journey. Over the past two years, he has been at the receiving end of the retaliation whistleblowers around the world, including in Nigeria, face for shining the light on malfeasance around them: denial of wages, job losses, expensive court cases, abuse, psychological trauma, blacklisting across their sector, and sometimes death.

Abdullahi has been denied his salary and other allowances since December 2017, threatened, blacklisted, arrested and sued. All of this for acting professionally and responding patriotically to the call of the Nigerian government asking citizens to join the fight against corruption by blowing the whistle on corrupt practices and other forms of wrongdoing in the country.

In two separate courts, in Ifo, Ogun State, and Okitipupa, Ondo State, where in a most brazen abuse of judicial process, Abdullahi was summoned to answer charges of defamation levelled against him by his boss, Dr. Marilyn Amobi, Managing Director of NBET, he easily walked through the doorway of victory. Both cases were struck out on account of Dr. Amobi’s lack of seriousness in prosecuting.

The crisis of corruption in NBET has been going on for almost three years and the government appears not to have any solution. The appointment of Dr Amobi as the second substantive MD/CEO of NBET signified doom not only for Abdullahi as head of internal audit but also for the entire staff of the company. The MD withheld Abdullahi’s salary and other emoluments just because he exercised the right to decline participation in her fraudulent activities and rejected an unwarranted deployment to a new department unilaterally created by the MD to continue to perpetrate fraud.

Abdullahi, a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN), graduated in Accounting from a reputable university and has over two decades of experience. He acquired experiences from both the private and public sectors before joining NBET. He was the pioneer Head of Internal Audit of NBET in 2012; a position he held till 2016 when Dr Amobi joined the company.

Within one month of Dr. Amobi’s assumption of office, Abdullahi discovered the illegal over-payment of N2 billion to two generating plants, Omotosho Power Plc and Olorunsogo Power Plc, both of which have no Gas Supply Agreement (GSA) and Gas Transportation Agreement (GTA) as required by industry agreement. The implication of this fraudulent transaction is that electricity consumers on a monthly basis pay N2billion in excess of what they ought to have paid if this fraud is averted. It is on record that the very first month the fraud was detected, Dr Amobi assumed the role of internal auditor by signing off the payment vouchers.

Her defence for this unlawful violation was that the mandatory GSA and GTA had been waived. The questions for her are, who approved the waiver? Why was the waiver not extended to other thermal plants? And why did the waiver idea come only after the head of internal audit had uncovered the fraud?

Other transactions that made Abdullahi to incur the wrath of Dr. Amobi was his refusal to endorse other payment vouchers for illegal procurement of alcohol using taxpayers’ money, proposed monthly payment of N2.5million to one Engr. Achinaya (an ex-staff of both NEPA and PHCN) without procurement process, procurement of legal advisory services of Azinge & Azinge and Aelex law firms in gross violation of the Procurement Act, and payment for return flight ticket from London for Dr Amobi to resume work in NBET in violation of the NBET Board-approved benefit compensation packages just to mention a few.

As a retaliation against Abdullahi for doing his job professionally, which to Dr Amobi connotes standing in her way, she colluded with the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation to get rid of Abdullahi and his colleague Waziri Bintube. Both were removed from their duly appointed and NBET Board- approved functions as head of internal audit and Chief Finance Officer respectively. While Abdullahi’s salary was stopped, Bintube was sacked.

In response, the duo wrote a petition to the Ministry of Power in 2017. The ministerial committee report was released in March 2018 and vindicated them, while indicting Dr. Amobi. But despite the minister’s (Babatunde Fashola) directives that Abdullahi’s salary should be restored and Bintube reinstated immediately, and in fact that both workers should enjoy the rights of NBET staff, Dr. Amobi refused to comply with the directives.

Till date, she denies Abdullahi his salaries and Bintube has not been called back. Dr. Amobi heads a government agency supervised by a Ministry, but her insolent defiance of a Ministerial order is unprecedented in the history of public sector administration in Nigeria. And it is strange that this is happening under a government that claims to prioritize due process and accountability in the public sector.

As if the stoppage of salaries and sacking were not enough, Dr Amobi got Abdullahi and Bintube detained in the facility of the State Security Services (SSS) for more than twenty-four hours. Several directives by Babatunde Fashola, then Minister of Power, were rebuffed by Dr Amobi who insisted that as an appointee of President Muhammadu Buhari she would only take directives from the president.

While the issue of salary suspension remained unresolved in spite of interventions from the Ministry of Power, Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation and the office of the Vice President, among others, Abdullahi approached the National Industrial Court in December 2018, twelve months after the unlawful stoppage of his salaries, with Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading Plc, Dr Marilyn Amobi (MD/CEO), Hon Minister of Power and the Ministry of Power as defendants.

On March 11, 2020, Abdullahi (the claimant) once again walked the path of victory with the court delivering judgement in his favour. According to Hon Justice O. O. Oyewumi, the act of the suspension of the claimant’s salaries from December 2017 till date was wrongful; the denial of the claimant’s 2017 and 2018 leave was wrongful; the 1st and 2nd defendants, contrary to its terms and conditions of service, withheld the claimant’s salary and other emoluments wrongfully. The judge ordered the payment of Abdullahi’s salaries and other allowances, noting, “All sums awarded in the judgement is to be paid within 30days of the judgement, failure upon which it attracts 21% interest thereon per annum.”

While the case lasted in court, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), Auditor General of the Federation and the Bureau of Public Procurement all issued reports indicting Dr Amobi while recommending her immediate prosecution. Sadly, some higher powers are preventing this from happening.

Governance problems are commonly found in federal government agencies due to either lack of a Board or total collapse of the governance structure. The Director General of the Bureau of Public Enterprises, Alex Akoh, noted in a letter to the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, dated January 7, 2020, that “for the past 14 months, no Board meeting of the company (NBET) was held, a situation which has serious consequences on the corporate governance of the company”. Truth is, no Board meeting of NBET has held since August 2018 when Professor Yemi Osinbajo, then Acting President, ratified the reconstitution of the NBET Board of Directors recommended by Kemi Adeosun, the immediate past Minister of Finance.

The governance collapse in NBET has entrusted the fate of about 80 million electricity consumers in Nigeria in the hands of Dr Amobi who sees herself as not only untouchable, but also a sort of “Alfa and Omega.” She formulates and executes policies at will, such as changing the company organogram whenever she sees any staff as standing in her way. The entire senior management has passed a vote of no confidence in Dr Amobi but despite this and other fraudulent activities traceable to her, no action was taken by the government to ameliorate the problem in the power sector and curb the continuous fraud being perpetrated in NBET.

The Minister of Power of Power Engr. Sale Mamman, in December 2019, made a daring move to respond to the situation by suspending Dr. Amobi from office indefinitely. But curiously, he was overruled by President Muhammadu Buhari in less than two weeks and Dr. Amobi was returned to office.

This forced the Minister to fire a letter dated January 8, 2020, to Boss Mustapha, Secretary to the Government of the Federation, detailing investigations by the ICPC, EFCC and the reports of the Auditor General of the Federation which implicated the NBET boss “for breach of due process in the award of contracts and several financial wrongdoings.” In that letter copied to President Buhari, the Minister reminded the SGF of “the additional baggage which the suspended MD carries in the light of the anti-corruption stance of the Federal Government.”

If this government wants to be seen as genuinely fighting corruption, the NBET case is a golden opportunity to faithfully demonstrate that conviction. Dr. Amobi has been indicted for corruption by government anti-corruption agencies. The place for her, therefore, is the courtroom, not a cushioned seat of a government agency.

Meanwhile, before Dr. Amobi’s prosecution, government should direct her to obey without delay the judgment of a court of competent jurisdiction in the suit filed by a whistleblower, Sambo Abdullahi, the head of internal audit of NBET.

In addition, government should realize that all whistleblowers deserve full and effective protection from all kinds of retaliation, without which its whistleblowing policy will not succeed as an instrument for reducing corruption in the country.

Onumah and Onyeacholem are with the African Centre for Media & Information Literacy (AFRICMIL)

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March 26, 2020
Coronavirus: Zamfara Governor Orders Closure Of Government Offices

Governor of Zamfara State, Bello Matawalle, has ordered the immediate closure of all government offices in the state.

The move was to contain the spread of Coronavirus in the state.

No case of COVID-19 is yet to be confirmed in the state.

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control had on Monday morning confirmed 36 cases of the virus with one death so far.

In his directive, Matawalle ordered all civil servants to stay at home.

However, he stated that health workers, firefighters and radio stations were exempted from the order.

He said, “I have ordered the immediate shutdown of all government offices, ministries, departments and agencies.

“Almajiri schools should also be closed. All state civil servants should remain at home.

“Gathering of more than 20 people is banned.

“Our hospitals, fire service and radio stations are not affected by this rule.”

The governor, who described the rapid increase of Covid-19 cases in the country as alarming, advised the people of Zamfara to practice social distancing, avoid large crowds and also take all necessary precautions as directed by the NCDC.

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March 24, 2020
Bodies of treasure hunters buried at Gunung Jerai foothill found

GURUN: The bodies of two men digging for treasure at the foot of Gunung Jerai have been found today after they were buried under 15m of earth in a landslide yesterday afternoon.

Kedah Fire and Rescue Department (JBPM) Senior Assistant Commissioner Sayani Saidon said the body of Roslan Saidin, 52, was spotted at 10.49am and recovered at 11.36am.

“The body of the second victim (Md Noor Shaari, 68) was found at 12.53pm and was retrieved at 1.01pm, while the entire operation was over at 1.15pm,“ she told reporters after a search and rescue operation at the scene of the incident, here today.

She said even though the two victims were found one to two metres apart, it took a while to excavate as the second body was buried deeper.

“We did not experience any difficulties during the operation due to the favourable weather conditions and the locations of the victims were detected by a tracker dog unit.

“Two excavators were used in this operation and before digging to find the victims, we have to stabilise the soil structure first,“ Sayani said.

In the 6pm Sunday incident, the victims were said to have been covered by falling earth due to a ground movement while excavating in 12m deep pit to find the treasure allegedly stored at the foothills of the mountain.

Kuala Muda district police chief Assistant Commissioner Adzli Abu Shah said the issue was serious and advised the public not to be fooled by the rumours.

“It is learned that there were looting of heritage properties at the location and I urge the public not to be involved in such unlawful activities.

“Furthermore, according to the National Heritage Department (JWN), the activity is an offence under Section 86 of the National Heritage Act which provides for a fine of up to RM50,000 or jailed up to five years,“ he said.

He said the authorities however classified the case as sudden death and the bodies of the victims were sent to Sultanah Bahiyah Hospital in Alor Star for post-mortem.

He said the excavated area would also be rehabilitated to ensure safety at the location. – Bernama

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March 23, 2020