Kota Setar police chief Ahmad Shukri Mat Akhir said acting on public information, three ‘Op Covid-19’ monitoring teams together with a team from the home ministry went to the location at about 2pm and found 34 individuals, including children, inside the mosque.

“We let them complete their prayers first before taking action. They observed physical distancing and wore face masks during prayers but violated the SOP regarding the number of congregation members,” he told reporters here.

Based on the instructions for the implementation of religious activities during the MCO period by the Kedah Islamic Religious Affairs Department, only 13 people comprising mosque officers and committee members are allowed to perform Friday prayers at mosques and surau in the state.

Shukri said out of the 34 people, the police issued compounds against 13 individuals aged between 18 and 82 years old amounting to RM1,500 each.

He said a compound amounting to RM10,000 was also issued to the mosque authorities for failing to ensure compliance with the SOP.

Shukri said several other congregation members comprising the disabled, the elderly and children were not compounded on reasonable grounds.

In the meantime, he said there were still members of the public who gave lame excuses or pretended not to know about the SOP, even though the Covid-19 pandemic had prevailed for quite some time in the country.