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GEORGE TOWN: Hawker Ch’ng Kim Aik was preparing to slave over a hot stove on a busy Saturday night.
It had been difficult to get business during the motion control order (MCO), but this weekend, the 44-year-old had received more than 10 orders from his customers who wanted to dine and take out food at his stand. Western. lunch at the Mutiara
Food court in Tanjung Bungah.
However, this was not meant to be, as a morning fire destroyed 70% of the food court over 40 years old.
“I was having breakfast at Jalan Masjid Negeri when I received a message on my WhatsApp group chat about the fire that broke out in the food court.
“I ran to find that sadly my refrigerator, work table and counter were destroyed in the fire.
“I will need at least RM10,000 to RM20,000 to buy new equipment,” Ch’ng said.
She has recently taken over her former boss’s business after working in the food court since she was 13 years old.
“The awning, roof and wiring in the food court were recently renovated and street vendors have requested that the floor be renovated and old tables replaced,” he said yesterday at the food court.
Ch’ng hopes that a temporary food court will be established nearby to allow street vendors to continue to practice their trade.
“This is our only source of income and we look forward to continuing to do business here,” he said.
Ch’ng added that only about five stalls were operating when the fire broke out around 10 a.m. yesterday.
“Fortunately, most of us operated only at night and no one was injured in the fire,” he added.
The billowing smoke from the fire could be seen from a distance and images from the dramatic scene quickly went viral.
Another street vendor, Fauziah Awang Kechik, 50, who sells tom yam noodles, could only watch silently as flames engulfed his stall.
“I have been here for more than 20 years. Although I only open my stall at night, I come here in the morning to prepare the ingredients.
“When I got here this morning, the fire had already started and I couldn’t get into the food court to put my things away,” he added.
Penang Fire and Rescue Department Fire and Safety Operations Officer Nafis Ariff Abdullah said they received a call yesterday at 10.20 a.m. M.
“A fire was reported in the Mutiara Selera food court with Jalan Sungai Kerian and Jalan Tanjung Bungah.
“Upon arrival at the scene, it was discovered that the fire was in a class B open food court,” he said in a statement yesterday.
Nafis added that no casualties were reported and that the fire was controlled at 10.50 am by about 20 firefighters.
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