Health DG: Eateries not adhering to SOPs can face RM1k fine

PETALING JAYA: The Health Ministry can issue compounds to errant eatery owners, if the standard operating procedures (SOPs) are not found to be enforced in their premises.

Health director-general Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said ministry officers can fine restaurant owners up to RM1,000 if they do not comply with the guidelines.

“As the (movement control order restrictions) loosen, we are hoping that the restaurant owners themselves will be empowered to adhere to the SOPs.

“If ministry officials are on their rounds and we find that there are errant eatery owners, we will either issue a warning or take action.

“The action, under (the Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases) Act 342, will mean that we can issue fines of up to RM1,000.

“If possible, we don’t want to just focus on enforcement efforts, but we want the cooperation of Malaysians in regards to dining in at restaurants, ” he said in his daily Covid-19 press briefing in Putrajaya on Saturday (May 30).

He was responding to a question by a reporter on observations that some eateries and their owners and patrons were not adhering to the SOPs set in place by the authorities, such as limiting the number of patrons at one table.