Stall owner distraught after receiving fine for takeaway near home

 

Struggling food stall owner Goh Yong Thai, who manages a Western food stall in Jinjang North, Kuala Lumpur is appealing for a RM1,000 fine to be withdrawn after he was stopped at a roadblock while getting takeaway food near his home.

Goh believed that there was nothing wrong with his actions considering Defence Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob's announcement that, under the conditional movement control order (CMCO), KL residents are free to travel within the capital city without an approval letter as it is considered to be a single district, and that he had not crossed the city boundaries.

Goh finished working at 4pm on Oct 26 and went to a shop outside his house in Segambut to buy a takeaway meal.

When he was on his way home, he encountered a police roadblock outside SJK(C) Khai Chee along Jalan Segambut and was asked to produce an approval letter.

Because he is a self-employed stall owner who lives and works in KL, Goh did not have one.

After he was unable to produce the letter, the police determined that Goh violated the Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases Act 1988 and issued him with a RM1,000 fine, said Kepong MP Lim Lip Eng who highlighted the issue at a press conference this morning.

When contacted afterward, Lim told Malaysiakini that apparently, the police had asked Goh whether he wanted to “ask for help” before issuing the fine.

Lim said he suspected that the police officer was asking for a bribe.

The DAP MP reiterated that Ismail had announced residents of KL were free to travel within the city, therefore there was no reason for Goh to be fined.

He added that Goh’s business had just started when the CMCO was implemented and that he was struggling to make ends meet.

“He is very upset. His stall business just started less than a month ago. The business was not good and he doesn’t think he is capable of paying the fine.”

According to the fine sighted by Malaysiakini, Goh needs to pay up within 14 days.

Lim said he will make a request to Bukit Aman police headquarters to withdraw this fine and to investigate whether the policemen on duty were authorised to set up the roadblock.

Malaysiakini has contacted the Sentul police for a response on this matter.

Since Oct 13, the CMCO has been implemented in Selangor, Kuala Lumpur, and Putrajaya, and has now been extended until Nov 9. - Mkini