What specific roles are police limited to under Act 342?

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Police Roles Under Act 342 Are Limited to Assistance and Compounding Offenses

Under the Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases Act 1988 (Act 342), the police are specifically confined to two distinct roles. These roles are primarily focused on providing support to authorized officers and managing certain administrative aspects of offenses, rather than direct prosecution in court. The Act does not expressly grant the police the authority to conduct prosecutions.
Rendering Assistance to Authorized Officers

The first defined role for the police under Act 342 is to provide assistance as requested by any authorized officer. This is stipulated under Section 5 of the Act, which mandates that police officers shall render such assistance as may be requested to enable authorized officers to exercise their powers under the legislation. This assistance can encompass a range of duties, including movement control operations, crowd management, and other security-related tasks necessary for the effective implementation of the Act.
Compounding of Offenses

The second specific function assigned to the police under Act 342 relates to the compounding of offenses. According to Section 25 of the Act, the Director General of Health, or any public officer authorized in writing by him, has the power to compound offenses that are prescribed as compoundable. This means that the Director General may authorize the police to act as public officers in collecting sums of money from offenders, up to a maximum of one thousand ringgit, as a settlement for certain offenses under the Act.

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What specific roles are police limited to under Act 342?

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