MELAKA: The owner of a popular popiah stall has lodged a police report alleging that rodent droppings were intentionally thrown into the premises, leading to a closure order by the Melaka Health Department.
Melaka Tengah OCPD Christopher Patit confirmed that the police report was lodged by the 48-year-old co-owner of Bunga Raya Popiah at the Melaka Tengah police station at 4pm on Monday (Nov 11).
According to the report seen by the media, the co-owner claimed that part of the roller shutter at the back of the stall was damaged, with a hole believed to have been made to discard the excrement into the shop a day before health enforcement officers conducted a check on Oct 11.
The co-owner also claimed that the notices issued by enforcement officers were only related to his workers not attending food handling training and were not connected to the rat droppings.
He further alleged that the water supply pipe outside the stall was deliberately tampered with and destroyed, causing a water disruption to the stall two weeks ago.
When contacted on Tuesday (Nov 12), the other owner, Ong Chee Siong, said his elder brother decided to lodge the police report after discovering the damage to the roller shutter.
He said droppings were found only in one spot at the back door of the premises and not in any other areas of the stall.
"I find it surprising that the rodents knew where and when to excrete, just hours before the enforcement officers conducted the check.
Furthermore, we engaged a pest control company to check for any infestation in September, but no signs of the animal were detected, including in recent weeks after the check," he said.
Ong said his family has endured endless heartache due to the closure of their decade-old business caused by an alleged violation of the stall's cleanliness from 11 October to 16 October.
"Hopefully, the truth can be revealed with the police report lodged. We also find it hard to digest that the notice of closure pasted outside our premises stated our stall would be closed from 11 October to 24 November, which was shared widely on social media," he added.
Ong, 46, mentioned that, to his understanding, closure notices issued under the Food Act 1983 are only valid for two weeks, but in his case, it was stated for more than a month.
He said the stall was moved to Jalan Munshi Abdullah on 1 August to provide comfort to his customers, as the old site faced traffic congestion.
"I now regret shifting, as I believe my decision to move to bigger premises has made some parties unhappy. This is the first time my family has felt disillusioned after four generations in the popiah business," he said.
