MELAKA: The bizarre cases where drivers from the Alor Gajah district were served with compound notices for alleged movement control order SOP violation is getting the attention of the Melaka police chief.

       On Friday, a 44-year-old woman from Taman Idaman was stopped while driving along Jalan Taman Merdeka, which skirts the border of the Alor Gajah and Melaka Tengah districts at some parts.

       On Monday, another woman from Taman Rembia Utama was issued a compound notice at a roadblock in Paya Rumput.

       Deputy Comm Datuk Abdul Majid Mohd Ali said he would look into the cases, especially the first one, where the driver was stopped for driving less than 100m from the border to get to a hypermarket at Taman Angkasa Nuri.

       “For me, the welfare of the people comes first, especially during this challenging period.

       “I will find out why my men had not used their discretion before issuing the compound, especially when the border is only separated by a row of trees,” he said when contacted on Friday.

       Yesterday, Melaka Chief Minister’s Secretary for Community Affairs, Yong Fun Juan, said the second woman, 34, was issued the compound despite explaining that she needed to buy certain items from a hypermarket at Taman Paya Rumput in the Melaka Tengah district for her online food delivery business.

       Yong said the woman’s husband, who is a construction worker, had lost his job earlier this year.

       “There were several similar notices of the compound that I am handling and I was relieved to read that Melaka police chief will be looking into any unfair issuance (of compound notices to the locals),” he said.

       The issue of the first woman from Alor Gajah was highlighted by Kota Melaka MP Khoo Poay Tiong on Friday, after she was stopped by cops on the dual-carriageway road that day.

       Khoo said even though the start and end points were within the same district, she had to use the road which was under the jurisdiction of the Melaka Tengah district in order to get to the hypermarket.

       “The main road runs parallel along the Melaka Tengah and Alor Gajah districts, and is the access road to the hypermarket for those driving from Durian Tunggal,” said Khoo, adding that the self-employed woman was now traumatised and could not afford to pay the RM5,000 compound.

       “I visited the site to see for myself the proximity of the border to the road, and felt it was unjust to issue the compound when motorists have no choice but to go through the only access road,” said Khoo, who felt that some parts of the road was only 70m from the district border.

       “I was told that many other motorists were also issued compounds for the same matter,” he added.

       Yong said the intervention from DCP Abdul Majid was timely and was good news for the locals.

       “Many have expressed their disappointment over the unfair issuance of compound notices, with some turning it into a political issue,” he added.