Puchong poultry plant electrocuted chickens to death, says Mais

 Religious council says the slaughterhouse is Muslim-owned but not halal-certified, and supplies processed chicken to restaurants also owned by Muslims.

The poultry plant was essentially slaughtering carcasses rather than live chickens, as required under Islamic teachings, said Mais.

PETALING JAYA:

The poultry processing plant in Puchong raided by authorities on Thursday is found to have electrocuted chickens to death before processing them for distribution.

The Selangor Islamic religious council (Mais) said an investigation found that the plant used electric water baths to stun the chickens, but the electrical voltage used was too high.

This instantly killed the birds when they were dunked into the water before being slaughtered in accordance with Islamic law, Bernama reported.

“This means they were essentially slaughtering carcasses rather than live chickens, as required under Islamic teachings,” said Mais chairman Salehuddin Saidin.

Salehuddin said a preliminary investigation found that the slaughterhouse, which has been operating since 2004, was owned by a Muslim and supplied processed chicken to Muslim-owned restaurants.

“This is a highly irresponsible act, and we will ensure that firm action is taken. The company has been operating for a long time, more than 20 years.

“I am, therefore, rather perplexed as to how something like this could happen, and why they would so easily deceive Muslims when they themselves are Muslims,” he said.

Following the raid, the authorities ordered the plant to close for two weeks under health regulations, to allow for further investigation.

Salehuddin urged eatery operators supplied by the firm to stop using its chickens immediately.

“I urge Muslims, restaurant operators and food business owners to check the source of their chicken supplies, in particular, as they must ensure that the food they serve is suitable for consumption by Muslims,” he said.

A multi-agency operation led to the raid, during which 12 foreign workers were arrested and more than 6.5 tonnes of raw chicken seized.

A preliminary investigation indicated that the premises sourced its chickens from several poultry farms around Sepang.

The processed chickens were believed to have been distributed to restaurants, grocery shops and supermarkets across the Klang Valley. - FMT